A Changed Realm II: Infinity War
by LilyannaSpiritOfTheCheetah
Summary: With the Avengers forewarned and Loki off to try and undermine his one-time master, Jane and Thor thought that they were as ready as they could be for what was to come. However, no amount of preparation could have prepared them to bring a child into a world about to be attacked by the Mad Titan.
1. The Plan

**A/N - This isn't just a Thor fic, it is very much an _Avengers: Infinity War_ re-make and so** **should probably be listed under the Avengers category and not just Thor, but Avengers wouldn't let me choose Jane as a character so here is where it goes!**

 _Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers.  
_

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 **Chapter 1 – The Plan**

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Thor watched with a small smile as Jane discussed her research with two near worshipping teenagers. Peter he had fought with in the battle against Hela, while Princess Shuri, younger sister to King T'Challa, he had just met, after she invited herself over once she heard who was there. Both teens were quizzing his wife and she was clearly loving every minute of it. Seeing she was in good hands, and seeing that both Sif and Fandral were staying close by, Thor allowed his attention to be brought back to the discussion his fellow Avengers were having.

"You should have woken me up sooner, I would have helped." Said Bucky. They had been filling Thor in on what had happened since he was away and he had just heard the story of the Black Panther and his cousin's attempt to take the throne of Wakanda.

"Even if we had known what was going to happen we wouldn't have woken you." T'Challa replied. "Shuri had not yet had enough time to heal you. If nothing else, she would have kicked my butt for ruining her progress."

"And don't you forget it, brother!" The girl in question called from across the room, though it looked like she hadn't stopped her conversation.

"All our female midgets are so violent." Tony muttered from his spot on the couch where he was sulking and – unnecessarily – nursing an ice pack. He stiffened as he felt eyes on him, and though Jane said nothing, Natasha smacked him upside the head.

"See?" He said as if this proved his point.

"You just make one want to be violent, Tony." She muttered.

"Anyways…" Steve moved to change the subject. "What's this about Thanos? And how can we trust Loki?" Thor was not surprised that it was Steve who brought up the impending doom, nor that he wouldn't wait until tomorrow as Thor had originally said they could.

"I guess that's our cue to join the group." Jane said, cutting off her talk with Peter and Shuri and accepting Darcy's – who hadn't left her side since she stopped chasing Tony – help up.

"You sure you're only six months along?" Darcy asked, earning a glare though it was an understandable question; Jane's small stature made her look more pregnant then she really was. Ignoring her friend, Jane walked over to the group and allowed Thor to pull her into his side.

"You can trust Loki because Thor and I do." She said simply. "We know him best and we have our child to think of." Thor nodded his agreement.

"Since we discovered Jane was pregnant, any chance of me putting her or our child in danger – at least, more then they already are – became non-existent." Thor agreed. "If I thought Loki would betray us I would never suggest this for it would put our child in extreme danger."

"If we thought he'd betray us, we would have killed him by now." Jane added.

"Why thank you, sister." The man in question muttered sarcastically, though he didn't fight her statement.

"Tell us we're wrong." She continued as if he hadn't spoken and looking to Clint. "If it was your children, Clint. You would, and have, done everything you can to protect them. If we're trusting him we have to be absolutely certain he doesn't pose a threat." The Avengers all looked to Clint who pursed his lips. He clearly wanted to say something snarky, but on the topic of his children's lives he couldn't do it.

"Damn it, they're right." He said finally. "If they're trusting him then…I trust him too." He looked like he was in pain when he said it, but said it he did, unable to do otherwise. None of the other Avengers looked like they were happy about it, but none fought Clint's assessment; they themselves did not have children, but knew Clint, and now Thor and Jane, would kill to protect theirs.

"For argument's sake let's say we agree." Said Steve. "How is he going to pull one over on Thanos? And how fast is this all coming to a head?"

"I will allow you a free pass this once, Captain Star Spangled, and not take offense at your first question." Loki spoke up. "I am the god of mischief: lies and deceit are second nature to me. That is how I shall fool Thanos." Tony opened his mouth when Loki said what he did about lies and deceit, but a quelling look from Jane shut him up.

"Do not become overconfident, brother." Thor warned. "Thano's power is nothing to scoff at, especially not now that he has the Power Stone."

"So he has already started to collect the Infinity Stones." Stephen muttered as he glanced down at the Eye of Agamotto, the Time Stone, that hung from his neck.

"Yes." Jane confirmed. "That's why we came now. We received word from a group of Xandarians. They were on a mission off planet and returned to find Xandar completely destroyed; their government was hiding the Power Stone, or trying to at least. Too many people knew it was there, so I'm not terribly surprised that he found that one first."

"Then there are two here, and two on Asgard." Said Vision. "That leaves one left."

"The Reality Stone has been as well hidden as it can be. After Malekith was beaten we hid it with one of the few beings that has the ability to contain an Infinity Stone." Thor explained.

"While we have no doubt that he will stay silent about the Stone, knowing it will draw Thanos to him," Sif continued, having been one of the ones to take the Reality Stone to the Collector. "He will spill all the moment Thanos questions him. He will gain that Stone next."

"And we will help him." Said Thor, earning incredulous looks from everyone except Loki.

"I'm sorry, it sounded as if you wanted to give the crazed megalomaniac one of the nearly all powerful rocks he intends to use to commit mass murder worse then any genocide known to man…or anyone, for that matter." Said Bruce.

"That is exactly what they intend." Wanda added and they waited for Thor to continue. Even Jane knew nothing of this plan and was waiting for her husband to elaborate.

"Thanos will get his hands on that Stone regardless, we cannot protect it where it is. Better he get it on our terms, to convince him Loki has betrayed us."

"We sure he won't actually betray us for real?" Tony got in a wise crack this time before Jane's glare could top him.

"He knows he will die swiftly if he does." Sif responded seriously.

"Yes, yes, we all know of the line of people waiting to kill me if I betray anyone ever again." While he could understand their hesitation in trusting him, it was only funny for so long.

"Putting that aside for now," Coulson spoke up for the first time in awhile. "How are you going to convince him you have turned on us again? And don't just say because you're the god of mischief. When the lives of everyone in the galaxy are at stake I think we deserve more than that."

"Thanos believes himself all powerful, more than the Allfather – our father, of course, not you brother – more than the Celestials, more than any other being, save perhaps the One-Above-All himself. He will not believe it possible that I can deceive him. He will try and get inside my head again and believe it enough."

"But it won't be?" Steve asked. "How will you stop him this time?"

"With a bit of protection from the Soul Stone under my command." Thor replied. "A barrier weak enough for Thanos not to detect, but enough to boost Loki's own power and stop Thanos taking control as before."

"And if this works, what do we hope to accomplish?" Natasha asked. "For him to take down Thanos?"

"No." Said Jane, knowing exactly what Thor was hoping to accomplish with this plan even if she was only hearing about it for the first time. "But we will get information on his movements. Loki can also help to take down his supporters, leaving a clearer path to Thanos. Loki's goal will be to minimize destruction and death. Am I right?" Thor nodded with a smile. The others nodded as well, all of them in agreement; this reasoning for sending Loki to Thanos was one they couldn't argue with. Gaining an edge over their enemy for the coming battle and stopping more unnecessary death was something they were all behind.

"Ok, so we have a plan, and…we will trust Loki to help." Steve said with only some hesitation. None spoke up to disagree with their unofficial leader and so they moved onto the planning and it was quickly decided that Loki would leave tomorrow. For the rest of the day the group lounged together around the Avengers facility, Jane claiming the entire couch when she got tired and falling asleep with her head in her husband's lap. That evening was peaceful, save some bickering from Tony and Jane, the former who had well and truly adopted Jane as a sister in the years before Hela while Thor was away. Jane had not had a choice in the matter but she'd clearly accepted it, their bickering was a testament to how much they had missed each other, though neither would admit it. The Asgardians stayed the night – Sif and the Warriors Three being given guest quarters when they refused to leave their King and Queen – to see Loki off in the morning. Jane was clearly upset at his leaving and while she blamed it on pregnancy hormones they all saw through her. She had genuinely come to care for Loki and that, far more than the words of last night, helped to convince many of them that Loki could be trusted. However, Jane wasn't the only one upset.

"Do ensure you return alive." Sif muttered. "The Allfather will not be pleased if you die, not to mention The Queen." Loki smirked.

"Come now, my lady, is that the proper way to say you will miss me?"

"I will not." Her blush, gave her away.

"Are you quite sure?" He asked, leaning down to speak seductively into her ear. Sif froze, her bush deepening.

"Are they flirting?" Steve asked, sounding both incredulous and a bit disturbed.

"Is that what this is?" Sam retorted. "I was thinking some weird Asgardian goodbye custom, because I don't know _what_ this is."

"Yeah, they're flirting." Jane confirmed in a stage whisper, sending her own smirk in Sif's direction and ignoring her friend's glare and forcing herself to hold in her laugh when Sif stormed off. Thor put a sympathetic hand on his brother's shoulder and unlike his wife, cringed under the glare he received.

"I'm leaving now." Loki said, brushing off Thor's hand and making his way over to Jane. "Goodbye, sister." He said, bending to kiss her on the cheek. "Do take care of my niece."

"Or nephew." She said pointedly, clearly not for the first time.

"Of course." He said indulgently. Turning back to Thor, Loki gave a short wave before turning back around and walking away from everyone. Without a word the Bifrost opened and took Loki away without him even breaking stride.

"He better come back safe." Jane muttered. Thor knew better then to promise Loki would return when he couldn't promise any such thing, and so he settled for wrapping an arm around her as together they worried for their brother.

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 **A/N - Well, here's a sequel I honestly didn't plan to write. Then I saw _Infinity War,_ got a plot bunny in my head, and got a couple messages shortly after it came out asking if I was going to write a sequel and well...here we are!  
**

 **Not sure how long this is going to be, I've only got a few chapters written, but I generally know where I want to take it. Updates will hopefully be weekly, but I make no promises if work becomes hectic. I'm hoping to have this all out by the end of the summer though.**

 **Review please!**


	2. Going Home

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers._

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 **Chapter 2 – Going Home**

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Jane and Thor did not stay long after Loki left, knowing they had to go see her father. As excited as Jane had been the previous night to see him, she was now feeling quite nervous. She had not seen or spoken with her father since disappearing to Asgard almost two years ago. She knew that Tony had gone to see him when the Avengers had returned to Earth and had explained everything to him, but that was one of the reasons she was nervous; Tony was not known to put people's minds at rest. With the help of a Quinjet the trip across the country took barely any time at all and they arrived well before lunch. The Quinjet not being your everyday vehicle drew the attention of everyone on the block as it landed smack in the middle of the street, there being nowhere else to land it. While not your everyday vehicle, Quinjets were very recognizable as something the Avengers used so a rather excited crowd gathered around, wondering which of Earth's heroes was going to step out. They were quite confused when four unknowns disembarked, confusion then growing to alarm when the crowd saw that they were armed, though it didn't last long for two more disembarked, both of them well known to these people.

"Enough." Jane said, and Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg hesitantly put away their weapons. "I thank you for your diligence in protecting us, but these are my neighbours, I grew up around most of them." As if to prove her right an old woman called Jane's name as she approached and immediately began chastising her for her long absence while at once fussing over her like a mother hen; clearly this woman had known Jane since she was a young girl.

"It's good to see you too, Mrs. Anderson." Jane said, happily embracing the woman.

"You have been away far too long, young lady!" She admonished. "Though you've been busy I see." She placed a hand on Jane's belly. Jane blushed though smiled all the same.

" _Very_ busy, much more than this." She replied, moving Mrs. Anderson's hand a bit to where her child was kicking. "Mrs. Anderson I'd like you to meet my husband, Thor." Thor came forward and took Mrs. Anderson's hand in his, giving it a kiss. Jane smiled indulgently, knowing Thor did this for show – he knew full well after years of living on Earth that this was not a common custom any longer – but being unable to scowl at him given Mrs. Anderson giggled and murmured something about blushing like a school girl. "Mrs. Anderson took care of me when my dad was away while I was a child." She explained and Thor's eyes lit up with understanding and warmth, seeing that his wife's time in this old woman's care was fondly remembered. "And these are our friends, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three of Asgard." Fandral – never to be outdone by anyone when it concerned a lady – followed Thor's example and kissed Mrs. Anderson's hand, offering her a suave smile and wink.

"It is an honour to meet one so dear to our Queen." That drew Mrs. Anderson up short.

" _Queen?!"_ That had apparently not been what she was expecting. Jane blushed and Thor tried not to laugh.

"Yes." She said shortly, though clearly Mrs. Anderson was waiting for an explanation. "You know of the mythology surrounding Thor." And indeed she did. Jane had spoken in detail with her old caretaker turned friend about it shortly after she had met Thor for the first time. "His father was King Odin, the Allfather. Well, that title went to Thor when Odin passed away almost two years ago. Then we got married and things are the same as on Earth in that sense, so yes...when I married Thor I became Queen of Asgard."

"Does this mean I'm expected to bow to you now?" An amused voice asked and Jane gasped, recognizing it instantly. Without any hesitation she launched herself at the man standing behind her and held on tightly.

"Daddy..." She murmured as if she was a little girl again, tears streaming down her face. Richard Foster wasn't faring much better and merely held his daughter tighter, though he was careful of her bulging belly; _that_ had not been something he could miss. No one said a word as father and daughter held each other for a while; it had been almost two years and none would deny them this moment. After a little while though, Richard pulled away enough to greet the man he had just heard was now his son-in-law.

"Thor." He gave the tall blonde god - seeing Thor in all his Asgardian finery it was really the only way to describe him - a nod.

"Sir." He returned. While he might be King of Asgard, this was still his father-in-law and he'd be damned if he got on the man's bad side. The two had met each other before a couple times after Thor had come to live on Earth and in between his missions with the Avengers, but neither could say they knew each other well.

"You're taking care of her?" It was phrased as a question, though it really wasn't.

"Of course." He answered in all sincerity.

"Well…your tone of voice tells me I don't even need to ask if you're caring for my grandchild." He muttered. Jane pulled away from her father and looked up at him. "Come on, let's go inside." Bidding farewell to Mrs. Anderson and everyone else who had gathered, Jane, Thor and their friends – and guards – went inside Jane's childhood home.

"Erik!" Jane cried happily, seeing the man she'd known her whole life – Erik and Richard having become friends in university – but who had also become a good friend of hers as well as she'd grown.

"Hello Jane." He said, giving her a hug as well as the proper congratulations on her pregnancy.

"Erik." Thor then greeted, earning a less familiar, though no less enthusiastic, greeting. Jane made the introductions to Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg as they all settled around the living room after Richard made a pot of coffee at Thor's request; he had grown to love it, but it was not a drink they had on Asgard. The conversation flowed easily as Richard filled his daughter in on what had been happening with him since she'd left, followed by Jane doing the same.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She said when her story was complete, though her hormones were now getting the better of her again as she teared up. "I'm sorry you didn't get to walk me down the aisle or even be there for our wedding-"

"Honey, it's ok." He assured her. "For all his joking, Tony explained things very well to me, I know you couldn't contact me."

"I could have come home though, with the others." Richard raised an eyebrow at his daughter.

"No you couldn't have." He said, his look and tone of voice acknowledging that neither the house she grew up in, nor even Earth was her home anymore.

"No. I couldn't have." She agreed quietly, reaching over and grasping Thor's hand.

"And I know that. I just hope that with the Bifrost rebuilt you won't be a stranger here. Especially as I'll soon have a grandchild to spoil." Jane laughed and dried her tears, nodding her head vigorously as she promised to visit often now that it was possible.

"While I will not argue with Jane visiting Earth after Thanos' defeat," Thor said, the two not having kept news of the Mad Titan's imminent arrival a secret. "I am hoping you will also agree to visit us in Asgard. Perhaps for the birth of our child in two months time? Erik and Darcy are of course welcome as well." Jane turned a near incredulous look on her husband, not having known he'd planned to invite her family, of which she counted both Erik and Darcy a part of.

"I thought humans weren't allowed on Asgard." She said and Thor shook his head.

"That is true only to the extent that that was my father's rule." He explained. "Asgard is not closed off to any of the races in the Nine Realms. That being said, we are not a tourist attraction." Tourism was a concept that was only common on Earth. The other eight realms were more like Asgard, at once stuck in the past, yet far more advanced than Earth could ever hope to be. Midgard had always been seen as the weakest of the Nine Realms, and although none on Earth had proof of the existence of the other worlds they knew there were beings beyond them out there – such as the Asgardians they worshipped as gods – and the ancient people of Earth accepted their place in the multiverse, knowing they could never reach the height of their gods. This was one of the reasons for Midgard's separation from the rest of the Nine Realms, why very few from Midgard ever left their world but those from Vanaheim or Alfheim travelled freely through the multiverse. Human evolution had seen to their further separation from the other realms to the point where Midgard barely resembled them anymore and many of the ideas and concepts on Earth were completely foreign to the other realms, including tourism. "The Bifrost will not be open to anyone, but we can certainly open it to our family."

"And Thanos' arrival has nothing to do with the timing of this invitation?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I freely admit that having those we care for most, those who cannot defend themselves at least," Thor amended, thinking of the Avengers. "Within the protection of Asgard is an added bonus."

"One small problem with the safety part: Thanos will be coming to Asgard first." She replied pointedly. While they had not kept Thanos a secret, the Soul Stone he was after was another matter entirely.

"He will come, yes, but not first." Thor corrected. "Not even the Mad Titan is mad enough to take on the might of Asgard without as many Infinity Stones as he can get his hands on." It was a thin allusion to Odin's words that day that the Soul Stone was the most powerful of all the Infinity Stones and whether or not Jane believed her late father-in-law was right about this particular Stone's power, though she was inclined to believe him given it was Odin who said it, what mattered was if Thanos believed it, for if he did, then it would be as Thor said; he would not go up against the most powerful Infinity Stone without all the others backing him up.

"And even if that's not true, you will be there, which is reason enough for me to go." Richard said to his daughter.

"Besides it sounds like this Thanos will be coming to Earth anyways," Erik agreed. "And even with the Avengers we're not any safer here then on Asgard."

"He is correct, My Queen." Sif inputted. "Asgard might not be up to full strength as we once were, but even weakened as we are the armies of Asgard are a force which those of Midgard cannot hope to match." Jane wasn't so sure about that. Had not the World Security Council proven the might of Earth's weapons during the Battle of New York when they'd wiped out the Chitauri flagship with only one missile? Of course, she also knew that Sif was not referring to weapons alone, but living armies in close combat, and she could not deny that even with all their high-powered guns, Asgard would still claim a rather easy victory over Earth in such circumstances. Asgardian armour alone would protect them against all but the most powerful guns, the metal being something unique to Asgard, harvested from the realm itself where it had gained strength from the Soul Stone over the thousands of years that the stone had given strength to Asgard, and was stronger then even Vibranium. It was the same metal used to build the Bifrost and the palace; it's strength as an element being nearly indestructible, though not fully as Hela had proven.

"Alright, so it's not less safe." She admitted, not at all grudgingly. "I would love for you to come see Asgard." Her eyes were shining at the prospect of showing her father both her new home, and their life's work; he having been the one to introduce her to the concept of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge and feed her love of astrophysics. The rest of the day and well into the next was spent joyfully getting reacquainted with Jane's father. He had called into the university he was a professor at and took a personal day so he might spend the time with his daughter, for which she was quite pleased. The day after that, however, he did have to return to work and Jane and Thor had to return to Asgard; it was not a good idea for the Allfather to be away for too long, especially with Asgard still not up to full strength. Promising to return in a month to bring him, Erik and Darcy to the Realm Eternal, the Asgardians headed back to the Avengers facility to say goodbye to their friends, though they knew it wouldn't be for long with Thanos' arrival creeping up on them all too soon.

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 **A/N - Bit of a short chapter, but I wanted the reunion with her dad to happen. Chapters get at least a bit longer after this!**

 **Review please!**


	3. Shuri's Appeal

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers.  
_

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 **Chapter 3 – Shuri's Appeal**

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The scene they arrived to at the Avengers facility was not the peaceful one they had thought to find, though it gave them no worry.

"What's going on?" Jane asked one of the spectators of the heated argument taking place between T'Challa and his sister. The woman she had approached was clearly Wakandan, if both her dress and amusement were anything to go by; T'Challa and Shuri were speaking their native language and most of the crowd simply looked confused, not understanding a word they were saying.

"Your Majesty." The woman said with a respectful nod of her head once she saw who had spoken. "It is an honour to meet you. My name is Okoye, I am the general of the Dora Milaje, the King's bodyguards, and Wakanda's special forces and intelligence."

"It's nice to meet you." She replied, tearing her gaze away from the arguing siblings.

"Our King and Princess will be glad to see you are here." Okoye continued.

"Why?"

"Because it is about you that they fight." Jane startled.

"I think I'm going to need some context, if you don't mind." Okoye's expression became amused once more.

"Our King is insisting that Princess Shuri return to Wakanda with us, though the Princess insists that she must speak with you first. This alone would not cause an argument, but it has now been two days of waiting and the King is most anxious to return home. There is a girl waiting for him." She staged whispered, clearly making fun of T'Challa, even if he couldn't hear him.

"I see." Said Jane. "And is this one of those sibling arguments where anyone interrupting gets their head bitten off?" Okoye laughed and shook her head, motioning for Jane to step in, which is exactly what she did.

"I hear you're looking for me." She said loudly interrupting the argument.

"Jane!" Shuri cried happily, shooting her brother one more glare before coming forward excitedly. "I must speak with you."

"So I've heard." She waited for Shuri to continue and wasn't disappointed.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. gave me access to the analysis Stark ran on Thor's hammer and armour a few years ago, and I have found something very interesting. The hammer is made of something I cannot identify, though as it's supposedly made in a dying star-"

"It is." Jane corroborated.

"That's not very surprising." Shuri acknowledged what Jane said with a nod of her head, but otherwise continued. "However, his armour is made of Vibranium."

"That's not possible." Thor joined in. "Asgardian armour is made of a metal we harvest from the realm itself, Vibranium has never existed on Asgard. In fact, the only known place the Vibranium still exists today is here on Earth, it has died out everywhere else in the nine realms."

"Well, possible or not, it is Vibranium." Shuri said. "Except, it is a Vabranium of a strength we have never seen in Wakanda. It is like Vibranium on steroids."

"Steroids?" Volstagg asked, he and his fellow warriors looking confused. While Thor had come to learn that term – Tony having said he must be on steroids often enough for him to have asked what it meant – the others did not understand.

"It means that some external source is giving the metal extra strength that isn't natural to it." Jane quickly explained, before turning back to Shuri. "That does make sense, in a way. Asgardian metal is used for far more then armour and weapons, and, as we now know, Vibranium has many similar uses as well."

"Yes. But from what you have said two days ago, when we compared Vibranium and Asgardian metal, your people had never realized their metal's full possibility as we have with Vibranium."

"Yes, that's true. But I still don't understand how it can be Vibranium, and we not even realize it."

"We have been harvesting this metal on Asgard for many millennia." Thor spoke up. "Long before even my father was born. I am not terribly surprised that the knowledge of exactly what it is was lost to us."

"And unless someone has studied it and Earth's Vibranium, no one would recognize that it's the same thing." Jane concluded quite quickly.

"I want to analyze Asgardian metal more thoroughly." Shuri then got to the main point of this discussion. "With my knowledge of Vibranium I believe I can use many of the same principles we've applied in Wakanda to harness the Asgardian metal's power as we have harnessed our Vibranium."

"Which given its added strength would be quite something." Jane was quick to catch on. Shuri hadn't had time to tell her everything that they were able to do with Vibranium in Wakanda, but she had said enough for Jane to know what even some of those uses could mean for Asgard, and for the war to come.

"Indeed." Shuri was getting excited. "If I could come to Asgard-"

"Shuri!" T'Challa snapped, continuing to say something in their language which Shuri scoffed at.

"You may be my King, brother, but you do not order me around." She said dismissively, turning back to Jane who was trying not to laugh.

"Thor." She said, turning to her husband. "I'd like to invite Princess Shuri to Asgard." Her tone brooked no argument and Thor's own amusement was clear.

"While it would be an honour to have Princess Shuri on Asgard, I cannot in good conscience go against the wishes of her King. It's not good diplomacy, you know." Shuri turned a glare on Thor before turning one back on her brother who sighed and came over to properly join the conversation instead of just being a spectator.

"I do not want her to impose." He said. "She can be a handful," Shuri flipped him off, though he pretended not to see. "And given both the coming battle, and your pregnancy, Queen Jane, I fear she will exhaust you, and only be in the way." Jane raised an eyebrow that nearly had T'Challa shrinking back. She supposed she should be glad that he hadn't said she was in a 'delicate condition' or some such thing, though as she thought about it, she couldn't deny that being pregnant wasn't easy. In the past pregnancy had been made out to be such a trying condition that it turned women practically helpless, while today there were many people who said that aside from some weird cravings and the odd mood swing, it wasn't taxing at all; the truth was somewhere in between and she now knew, and her eyebrow lowered.

"Thank you for your consideration, King T'Challa." She said rather formally, the only remnant of her continued annoyance. "However, as the Allfather said, it would be an honour to have Princess Shuri join us. Besides, if she is right then her aid will be invaluable for both Asgard, and the coming battle." Seeing her brother was giving in, Shuri gave a cheer and said she was going to pack before running off.

"She is going to be the death of me one day." T'Challa muttered.

"I know how you feel, my friend." Thor said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Siblings are indeed quite trying." He wisely left it at that; no need to open the can of worms that is Loki. T'Challa nodded and appeared resigned.

"Just don't let her take advantage. When it comes to knowledge and science, especially about Vibranium, Shuri never tires and will not stop until forced to."

"We will take care, I promise you." Thor said with a laugh.

"My King." Okoye had come forward now and appeared quite serious. "Ayo is prepared to lead five of the Dora Milaje to accompany the Princess as her protection."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Okoye." He replied. "I am certain that Thor and his warriors can protect her." Thor nodded.

"You have my word that no harm will come to her."

"Forgive me, my King," Okoye said tightly, trying not to sound like she was lecturing him, though he knew that that is exactly what she was doing. "But until you give Wakanda an heir, then Shuri is next in line for the throne. We cannot leave her unprotected."

"The Allfather has given you his word that she will be safe." Sif spoke up, sounding put out that anyone would question her King. "We will protect her."

"And if protecting our Princess means putting an Asgardian life in danger?" Okoye returned, not backing down. "We cannot simply take your word when it comes to the life of the current future Queen. Nor do we know anything of your training or if you will even be table to protect her if you tried." Sif's eyes blazed and Jane, Thor, and the Warriors Three flinched.

"Those are fighting words." Sif all but whispered. "Do not speak so unless you wish to meet my blade in combat."

"I am not afraid of a fight." Both women eyed each other the animosity between them clear. Then, without a word, they both drew their weapons, Sif's sword and shield meeting Okoye's spear. T'Challa tried to get Okoye to stop, but Thor stopped him, saying it was best to just let it happen. The fight lasted several minutes, both warriors being quite evenly matched, though in the end Sif came out the victor. She knocked Okoye to the ground at the same time she disarmed her, pointing her sword at the Wakandan's neck. Normally Sif would wait until her opponent yielded; however, instead she dropped her sword and held out her hand, helping Okoye up.

"You fought well." She complimented. "You nearly had me beat a few times there."

"But I did not." Okoye sounded upset with herself, and in a move neither Thor nor Jane expected, Sif tried to comfort her.

"Do not think this battle lost because you lack skill. Experience also matters in battle and I have lived for over a millennia, fighting in too many battles to count, on eight of the nine realms. Had you the experience I did, this battle could have ended very differently." After a moment Okoye smiled, the animosity between them gone.

"Only eight of the nine realms. You must be slipping." She said in a clear attempt at a joke, though Sif didn't get it.

"Svartalfheim is a dark world." She said seriously. "It's people, the Dark Elves, extinct in the time of Thor's grandfather, King Bor. Or so we thought until they re-emerged several years ago during the Convergence." Okoye merely nodded, deeming it unnecessary to try and explain her joke.

"The Princess will be safe with them." She then declared to her king who merely nodded, doing his best not to laugh.

"Your guards are welcome on Asgard." Sif spoke, irrespective that she was issuing the invitation and not Thor or Jane, though neither seemed to care. "I took offense that you would question our King's word of honour, I was not opposed to you wanting security for your princess." She explained when Okoye sent her a look. "Rest assured that neither our King or Queen, nor the Prince or Princess, once born, would be allowed even outside the palace, let alone a realm away, without a guard." Okoye's look turned understanding, had someone questioned her king's word, she too would have responded in the same manner. Sif had gained her respect, though she was glad to see that they were of the same mind, for she still was uncomfortable sending the heir to the Wakandan throne, and her friend, to places unknown without protection. Looking to T'Challa, Okoye saw the surrender in his eyes; his way of saying it was her call.

"Ayo and Teela then." She said. The two elite guards Okoye had named came forward and saluted their general before going to stand near the Asgardians. "And thank you for understanding." She directed to Sif, who offered a smile in return.

"Am I down to two guards then?" Shuri asked as she reappeared. T'Challa nodded and Shuri smiled. "Good, then I shall have enough beads." She dug in her bag and handed Ayo and Teela each a set of Kimoyo Beads, before handing a set to her brother and Okoye as well. "And one for mother." She handed her brother an extra bracelet. "I created an update once I knew that it was Vabranium on Asgard. These new beads should have a signal strong enough to communicate between realms, using the natural Vibranium on Asgard to boost the signal." She explained. "They will let us stay in contact if needed, and will let Ayo and Teela be able to inform you if I'm ever in danger." She winked at Okoye who smirked.

"I'm glad to see you care about your well-being." She said and Shuri rolled her eyes, both women knowing that was not what she had created them for.

"Are you prepared, Princess?" Thor asked, stepping forward. "We should return to Asgard." Shuri nodded and turned to her brother who came forward and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't cause too much trouble." He said, grunting when Shuri punched him in the side. "And be careful. Come home safe."

"I will, brother." Shuri promised. Jane felt herself tear up at the obvious displace of sibling love and didn't even curse her hormones for it this time; she'd likely have teared up regardless. Saying a quick goodbye to everyone else, Thor and Jane led their friends and the Wakandans outside where Thor summoned Gungnir, lifting it high as the Bifrost opened, summoning them home.

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 **A/N - So Shuri's becoming a bit more of a main character. I didn't plan that, but I really liked Shuri, and the _Black Panther_ movie in general so I'm quite happy. **

**Review please!**


	4. On Asgard

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers._

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 **Chapter 4 – On Asgard**

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The next few weeks proved a test on Jane's already waning patience. Although it was obvious that Shuri was trying to tamper her enthusiasm, she was still a hyper ball of energy and went exploring from dawn until dusk. After the first few days, in which both Jane and Thor made sure that all of Asgard knew that Shuri, Ayo and Teela were their honoured guests, Thor returned to his daily routine leaving Jane to handle Shuri alone. Her patience already thin thanks to her pregnancy, Jane quickly relegated the task of showing Shuri around to other people, namely Asgard's top scholars and metalsmiths who would know the most about the metal found on Asgard and how it worked. She figured that once Shuri had seen everything a few times she would calm down and begin to analyze the metal, beginning experiments and prompting discussion before she began trying to build anything, all of which Jane was only too happy to assist with. Until then, though, she too would go about her usual daily routine, which included playing hostess to emissaries from the other realms.

"Your Majesty should surly visit us once the child is born." A pompous, stout little man continued as Jane tried yet again to politely excuse herself. "Only the falls of Norndu at sunset can do your beauty justice. I shall show you them myself. No, I insist!" He said when she made to interrupt. "It would be the greatest honour of my life to host the Queen of Asgard in my home."

"Thor and I would be delighted to take you up on your offer, Your Excellency." She said, trying not to sound uncomfortable. His smile froze in place at her words.

"Of course the Allfather would be more than welcome as well."

"Excellent. Oh, Shuri!" Jane called, having spotted the younger woman and latching on to her as an excuse. "Ambassador Nezrith I don't believe you have met Princess Shuri of Wakanda. Her country is one of the most advanced and prosperous nations on Midgard." A fact which had only recently been revealed to the rest of Earth. Shuri held out her hand but instead of shaking it as expected, the Ambassador made a show of bowing and kissing the back of it. Shuri's eyebrows shot up and her guards' – who never left her side while she wandered Asgard – own hands tightened on their spears. Jane subtly shook her head at them and their grip loosened, understanding that while bordering inappropriate with the length of his kiss, this man posed no threat.

"Princess. It is my honour to make your acquaintance." He said when he finally stood back up.

"Thank you. I am very pleased to meet you as well." This seemed the right thing to say for the man visibly swelled with pride.

"Ambassador, I'm afraid I will have to leave you." Jane then said. "Princess Shuri is one of Midgard's finest scholars and is here conducting research. I promised to assist her this afternoon. Please do conduct our thanks to Queen Tilanyi. We are most appreciative of her assistance in the coming battle. I shall have Fandral visit her shortly to sort out any further details."

"Of course! It has been a pleasure speaking with you today, my Queen, as always." He bent over Jane's hand, and if it was possible his kiss lingered even longer then it had with Shuri, Finally Jane was able to extract her hand and bid the Ambassador farewell, watching as he left.

" _What was that?"_ Shuri all but demanded once he was out of sight.

"That was Ambassador Nezrith of Nornheim. He is a slimeball, for lack of a better word, and holds a person's station and title above all else; you could ask him to cut off his arm for you and he would simply because you're a princess." She explained. "He also believes he's god's gift to women." Shuri looked at her for a moment before they both burst out laughing. "But he's harmless, really." She continued when they'd calmed down a bit. "He was visiting on behalf of Queen Tilanyi, Nornheim's ruler, to discuss Nornheim's involvement in the coming battle with Thanos. Tilanyi is a fair and kind ruler, and she's certainly no idiot. She knows that if Thanos defeats Asgard's forces there's no hope for them, so she's agreed to send troops to help."

"And where is Nornheim? It's not one of the Nine Realms, right?"

"Yes and no. Nornheim is outside of Yggdrasil, but it is connected to one of the Nine Realms."

"Explain this again." Shuri was understandably confused.

"Yggdrasil, the Worlds Tree, is a cosmic nimbus that connects nine realms together, but that doesn't mean that there are only nine realms in the entire universe. The Nine Realms are the most important though. For one reason or another, everything centres on the Nine Realms and every other realm in the universe is in some way connected to one of the Nine Realms of Yggdrasil." Shuri wasn't quite grasping the concept. "Think of it this way: the Milky Way galaxy is home to several planets, to several _realms_. Now those realms are connected to each other by way of revolving around the same sun, but are otherwise isolated from the rest of the universe, they have no connection to a realm outside of their galaxy. Now imagine if one of those planets _did_ have a connection to a realm outside the Milky Way."

"Earth – Midgard." Shuri said. "Earth has a connection to realms outside our galaxy, but Mars or Saturn, for example, do not. But they are connected to Earth."

"Exactly. Asgardian astronomy operates on the basis that there are nine prime realms, if you will, that are connected by Yggdrasil. All other realms in the universe are connected to one of the nine prime realms and one only, they are in no way connected to any of the other prime realms."

"But we know that there are thousands upon thousands of galaxies in the universe, if not more. If there were only nine galaxies I could understand, but how does this make sense?" Shuri asked.

"Based on my Earth education it doesn't." Jane agreed with her, her eyes shining as they delved into a topic that continued to fascinate her. "This is the simplest way I can explain it." Jane pulled out her notebook and four coloured pen, which she continued to carry with her, and filled a page with circles, drawing tiny red dots inside nine of them. "All of these circles represent different galaxies, and the red dots are the Nine Realms inside their galaxies. Now, the Nine Realms are connected by Yggdrasil," Like Thor had done all those years ago, Jane drew Yggdrasil around each of the red dots, visualizing the connection they shared. "And all the other realms are connected to one of the Nine Realms. The other planets in our galaxy are connected to Earth," She changed the colour of her pen and drew several lines from within one of the circles to the red dot. "All the planets in the surrounding galaxies are also connected to Earth." She drew more lines, this time connecting a few of the circles to the red dot representing Earth. "Then it's the same with Asgard. The surrounding realms in the nearby galaxies are connected to Asgard. The same with Alfheim and Vanaheim, etc., etc." She drew more lines connecting the various circles to one of the red dots. "But they are never connected to each other in any other way. It is a reciprocal relationship," She turned one of the lines into a double ended arrow to demonstrate. "Between one of the Nine Realms and the planets connected to it, but these planets have no other connection within the universe."

"Like Wakanda." Ayo spoke up, she and Teela having naturally been listening. "Wakanda as a whole is the equivalent of the prime realm you speak of, with connections to other countries on Earth, but there are tribes within Wakanda. Tribes which connect to Wakanda, but individually do not connect to any other country on Earth."

"Yes." Said Jane. "That's a fairly good analogy."

"But what connects them?" Shuri asked. "And what stops the other realms from forming connections to anything but their prime realm?"

"That's the million dollar question. Even Asgard's scholars can't fully explain it. All we know for certain is that the Nine Realms are connected by the cosmic nimbus of Yggrasil, and that none of the other realms can form such connections. Everything else is TBD."

"But you hope to find the answer." Jane nodded.

"I do. One day I hope to understand the cosmos far better than I do now. It's my new obsession, now that I understand the Convergence."

"Well, I hope I'm alive to see the results of your discoveries." Said Shuri. It was no secret that Jane had eaten the Apple of Yggdrasil and would live far longer than her Earth friends and family.

"Me too." She replied, trying not to think about the short lives of those she cared about. "Anyways, you two must be bored stiff following Shuri around all the time." She turned to Ayo and Teela. "Come on." She led the three women outside to the training area, Sif calling a frantic halt the moment she stepped foot into the courtyard. The warrior swiftly approached as the soldiers she trained bowed to their Queen.

"What are you doing here?" Sif hissed angrily. She would never be so disrespectful were they in earshot of just anyone, but Shuri, Ayo and Teela were well aware of their friendship; it was very similar to Okoye and T'Challa's and the Wakandan general would not hesitate to reprimand her King in private or in the company of friends. "We have made it quite clear that while you carry Asgard's heir-"

"Peace, Sif." Jane held up her hand and though Sif clearly wanted to argue more she decided against it. "I'm only here for a moment. Given that Shuri has run them ragged these last two weeks I thought Ayo and Teela would enjoy the simplicity of training for awhile." The two Dora Milaje perked up hearing that, but Teela foresaw a problem.

"Thank you, Queen Jane, but we will not leave the Princess." Shuri rolled her eyes and Jane smiled softly.

"I know you won't. Which is why I thought we'd sit up there." She pointed to a balcony one level above them. "It's a protected viewing area. Shuri and I have a lot to discuss anyways and since we're not experimenting yet we can chat anywhere." Both women looked hopeful when Jane finished. The balcony was clearly visible from below and if there was trouble they'd easily be able to get up there. Though they clearly wanted to accept the offer, they turned to Shuri for permission, who again rolled her eyes.

"Why are you looking to me? Go train, we'll be up there." The usually serious Dora Milaje cracked a smile and nodded, turning to Sif.

"If your skill is anywhere near your general's we will welcome the challenge." She said, then addressed Jane. "Go." It was Jane's turn to roll her eyes but she did as instructed, leading Shuri upstairs to the plush chairs that had been laid out for her. Jane often liked to watch Thor train and once she discovered she was pregnant he had deemed the hard stone benches no longer appropriate and had soft, overly comfortable chairs put there instead. The sounds of training started up again once the two were situated and both tuned it out.

"I'm sorry I all but abandoned you after the first couple days...weeks…" Said Jane. Shuri waved her apology off.

"I was too excited, I know this. But my time was not in vain, I did discover much." She wasted no time diving into the topic at hand. "Specifically that my analysis on Earth was right: the metal within Asgard is indeed Vibranium."

"Still on steroids?" Shuri nodded. "That's something at least. Now we just need to figure out how best to adapt your Earth-bound technology with Asgard's strength. If it's not done properly things could-"

"Way ahead of you." Shuri interrupted, raising her wrist and twisting one of her Kimoyo Beads. A holographic image appeared with several schematics. "I've run several scenarios already and I think I've adapted the formulas correctly. Theoretically I should be able to apply it to any of my technology to work with Asgard's Vibranium." Jane was impressed. She'd been keeping an eye on Shuri these last weeks and had thought that the Princess had been too in awe of Asgard to have done much more than sightsee; clearly she'd been wrong.

"We should test your new formulas on a relatively harmless piece of equipment first, not a weapon." She said looking the hologram over and quickly seeing that Shuri's calculations did appear correct.

"Exactly what I was thinking. Back home we developed a way to make regular clothes into armour with small amounts of Vibranium imbedded directly into the fabric. The capes of our Boarder Tribe become shields when activated. I thought given the coming battle that that would be a good place to start." For the next several hours the two women discussed their next steps, what they ultimately hoped to accomplish and how they could reach this goal. They were completely unaware of time, not noticing when training ended and Ayo and Teela re-joined them, and barely being aware that they had gained another audience member until he touched Jane's shoulder.

"I have been calling you for several moments now." Thor said, an indulgent expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, we got so caught up talking." She replied.

"I know. But that does not excuse missing the noontime meal." His tone turned scolding, though he kept it light.

"No, it's only-" Jane cut off as she looked up at the sun, seeing that it was beginning to set. "Sunset. It's only sunset…" Realizing they'd been talking for most of the day and that she hadn't eaten since breakfast, Jane's stomach growled and she blushed, causing everyone else to chuckle.

"Come. My child is hungry." Said Thor, grasping Jane's hand and excusing them. He led them to their chambers where a meal waited for them – Thor having clearly gone to the kitchens before coming to find her – and Jane dug in ravenously.

"I'm going to have to be careful." She said when she was finally full. "We both know how caught up in my work I can get and while my poor eating habits didn't matter so much before, they certainly do now." Her tone was light but serious. While she clearly didn't believe forgetting about one meal to be a problem, she was determined that it wouldn't become one.

"Indeed. I will have servants check in on you every few hours and ensure you are eating." Jane felt a spark of irritation as he was essentially setting her a watch dog, but stomped it down, knowing he was just trying to take care of her and quickly seeing that this way she could lose herself in her work and not worry as much.

"Thank you." Leaning up, Jane kissed Thor and happily reciprocated when he deepened it. They hadn't had much time alone together in recent weeks, hell in the last few months even, and both were thrilled they had time now. With the way they were kissing, it wasn't long before clothes were discarded and Jane was straddling her husband. As her pregnancy progressed she found that this was the best position for such activities, and Thor was only too happy to accommodate her. Afterwards they both fell back against the pillows breathing heavily though both very sated.

"We haven't done that in a while." Jane said and Thor chuckled.

"And who's fault is that?" His question was rhetorical as he rolled over and laid a hand on her belly. "Making your mother so uncomfortable all the time recently is not good for us laying together." Jane snorted.

"Well, that's one way to say our sex life has sucked recently." The baby chose that moment to kick her insides sharply and she scowled down at her belly, bringing her hand up to join Thor's. "No need for _that._ " Even as their child continued to kick her liver, Jane's scowl disappeared the moment she looked at her husband. His expression had become one of awe as it always did when he felt their child moving; his love for the baby being only too evident.

"Papa loves you." He murmured, leaning over to kiss her belly and receiving another kick to his efforts.

"Mama loves you too. As she loves Papa." Thor turned to look up at his wife who hadn't taken her eyes off him even as she spoke to her child. His eyes filled with the love he also felt for her and instead of expressing his love in words, he simply leaned up to kiss her.

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 **A/N - Review please!**


	5. The Real Work Begins

_Disclaimer: I do now own Thor, nor the Avengers.  
_

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 **Chapter 5 – The Real Work Begins**

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The next month went by very fast as the real work began. Heimdall gave them frequent updates of Thanos' movements courtesy of Loki who was proving himself indeed on their side. Just as Loki knew of a way to block himself from the Gatekeeper's all seeing eye, so too did Thanos, and it was only thanks to Loki's magic countering Thanos' that Heimdall was able to see the Mad Titan at all. Knowing he now had two Infinity Stones – Loki having done his job and convinced Thanos of his loyalty by handing over the Reality Stone – and that he was now coming to Earth and Asgard for the others, the pressure was on to prepare for war. Asgard's still diminished army was joined for training by soldiers from Vanaheim, Alfheim, Nornheim and several other worlds that were under Asgard's protection. Soldiers from Earth were noticeably absent in this congregation, and though they lamented the untrusting nature of humans – they had issued an invitation that was denied – they took solace in the fact that the Avengers had issued a warning to the planet of what was coming and were preparing for battle themselves. They had debated long and hard about issuing a warning to Earth's governments, knowing that they were likely to fold in on themselves, protecting their countries at the expense of others instead of coming together to fight Thanos. They knew there was every chance that those same governments would then try and take control of the Avengers again and make demands of them as they seemed to be the only ones capable of fighting the coming threat. All of this proved true, but even so, forewarned was forearmed and if it saved lives then they would deal with the bullshit that followed. Besides, nothing ever got done quickly when it came to international affairs as countries had to agree with each other to get things done, so they were quite confident that the battle would take place before the world's governments could do anything to truly piss them off.

On Asgard, training continued with Thor at the head, while Jane joined Shuri in the scientific part of the preparations. Shuri's calculations were rarely wrong and this time was no different, so after only a few attempts did they find the correct formula to adapt the Wakandan Princess' inventions for use with Asgardian Vibranium. The result was even better then they expected. The cloth shields they started with proved so strong that it took a fair bit of Thor's lightning to crack it. No standard, or even low powered, attack would breach these shields, which would protect any bystanders from the crossfire; only someone in the direct line of attack would have to worry, and they would be far from defenseless. Like the shields, Shuri had adapted many of her weapons as well and Asgard's metalsmiths were hard at work producing them once Shuri and Jane had gotten the formulas right. That had been three weeks ago before Jane's final check up, or rather final _official_ check up, before she was due to give birth, and before her husband went crazy. Thor never missed one of her appointments with the healers and a minor comment from one of them saying they would have to keep a bit closer watch over her this last month had him picnicking. The healer had said it simply because up until recently she had been human and while thanks to Thor's great-great-grandfather they knew it was entirely possible – and were mostly certain it was safe – for a newly turned Aesir to carry a full blooded Aesir without problem, they were being cautious as none alive today had been alive back then to confirm without doubt. Thor had heard this and had taken it to mean that Jane and his child were at risk and had confined her to bed rest. Or tried to at least, for Jane wouldn't stand for it.

"Please go rest." Thor begged his wife as he trailed after her as she made her way down to the room in the palace that Shuri had converted into her lab.

"No." She replied shortly, her patience quickly waning as it had these last several days since the appointment with the healer.

"Jane-" He cut off as they passed by a group of Asgardians who stopped to bow to their King and Queen, though otherwise gave them a wide berth given the look in their Queen's eyes. "Jane please!"

"I'm fine, Thor." They arrived at the lab and Jane went over to look at the latest schematics while Shuri and the other scholars working on this project pretended not to listen in.

"Jane you must rest!" She growled instead, shooting him a death look. His worry had been endearing at first, though after a few hours when it became clear that he was not going to calm down it quickly became annoying. Even so, Jane had tried to placate him, knowing he loved her and their child so much that the thought of them in danger was literally driving him mad. She had spent nearly two full days in bed to placate him before putting her foot down; knowing of his concern or not, there was only so far she would let this go. Still he had been relentless and unless something that literally no one but he could do pulled him away, Thor now spent his days following his wife around, much to her chagrin. "Jane please-" She stopped dead and took a deep calming breath, though it did little good, as her patience with him was now gone. She could feel the energy crackling at her fingertips, and luckily for Thor, another saw it as well.

"Allfather!" Sif quickly came over and began pulling him away. "You are needed on the training ground immediately."

"Not now, Sif!" He insisted, trying to pull away, but she wouldn't let him.

"Indeed now. Allfather or not, you will not like the consequences if you try and evade me." His protests continued but Sif was relentless and eventually their voices died down as she dragged him far away. When they could no longer be heard Jane all but threw herself into the nearest chair and doubled over, hitting her head on the nearby desk.

"He cares a great deal for you." Said Shuri comfortingly.

"I know. That's why I haven't killed him yet." Her voice was muffled as she had yet to raise her head. Ayo and Teela chuckled alongside Shuri, though the Princess had another question.

"Was that…on your hand I mean…" Jane turned her head and looked up at Shuri, nodding. "Wow. You'll have to explain that one to me."

"One day." Jane agreed, sitting up properly. "But not now. Annoying as hell or not, he's not wrong that I should rest. I am quite exhausted, so lets get this over with so I can take a nap." She said, pulling the schematics towards her. Three hours later napping his how Thor found her. Sif had had a long talk with him, much to their friends' amusement, and though he couldn't stop the worry by any means, he's had it pounded into his head today that he was being unreasonable. Watching his wife sleep, her hand resting over where their child grew, Thor couldn't help but smile. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there when Jane's brow furrowed and a frown graced her previously peaceful face. This was not the first time this had happened and Thor knew exactly what was wrong, so he went over to her side and placed his hands beside hers, gently rubbing her belly, whispering softly, and soothing the child within.

"Thank you." Jane spoke sleepily and Thor was not at all surprised that their child's kicking had woken her up.

"I'm sorry, Jane." He apologized immediately and it was her turn to smile softly.

"I know you're just worried about us." She said. "That doesn't mean that I'm going to cater to your every panic attack."

"No, I would hope not." He replied with a laugh. "No matter how much not doing so frustrates me." Jane reached down and pulled Thor properly onto the bed and snuggled into his side. They lay there like that for a time, neither saying a word, just when Jane felt herself about to drift off again Thor spoke. "Tomorrow I will send for your father, Erik and Darcy." Jane's eyes shot open and she smiled brightly.

"Really?" Thor nodded.

"It is overdue. I should have sent for them at least a couple weeks ago, the healer says you can go into labour at any time now."

"We were busy." She could tell that he felt a bit guilty, having promised her lots of time with her father and friends – family – as she neared the end of her pregnancy. "You know, preparing for war and all."

"True." He was glad to see that she wasn't angry with him. "But I still should have sent for them. Maybe they could have gotten you to listen to me and rest more. At least Darcy would have been on my side. And probably your father as well." A punch to the arm shut him up.

 **-/-**

The following day Jane was practically bouncing on her feet as she, Thor and their friends waited for Heimdall to open the Bifrost. Hogun had been sent to retrieve her father, Erik and Darcy and they were supposed to have returned by now, though Jane was not really surprised that they were late. They hadn't given them any warning, and while her dad and Erik would drop everything – no doubt having been ready and waiting for such a summons for at least the last month – Darcy would have forgotten entirely and would no doubt be trashing her apartment trying to pack. Finally Heimdall turned away from where he'd been gazing down on Earth and he went to the centre of the Bifrost inserting his sword and opening the gateway between worlds. Moments later Hogun appeared quickly followed by the three others who stumbled after him, one falling flat on her bum.

"Ow…" Darcy moaned.

"Daddy! Erik, Darcy!" Jane cried, prying herself away from Thor and rushing towards them. Her father was ready for her and caught her without issue, making sure she didn't impact too harshly.

"Hi sweetie." He murmured, holding her close. When he'd had his fill, Jane turned to hug Erik and Darcy, the latter gasping loudly.

"Woah! Look at you, you're huge!" Jane knew she should be annoyed but couldn't find it in herself to be; she had missed Darcy like crazy.

"I missed you too, Darcy." She said, wrapping the younger woman in a hug.

"Of course I missed you." Darcy mumbled in a rare moment of seriousness. When they pulled apart Thor came over for his greetings before Jane made the introductions to everyone else.

"Dad, Erik, Darcy, you remember Lady Sif, Volstagg and Fandral." The three Asgardians who had not gone to Earth to fetch them waved hello. "This is Heimdall. He's the Gatekeeper, and Guardian of the Bifrost."

"Welcome to Asgard." He said in his deep baritone voice.

"And this is Princess Shuri of Wakanda, and her guards Ayo and Teela."

"Wakanda? I'm pretty sure that's on Earth." Said Darcy. Jane rolled her eyes.

"It is. Shuri is here helping out." She left it at that not wanting to go into detail about exactly what that help was just yet.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Said Shuri, her eyes sparkling in amusement. She had not missed that her new, mature, and mostly serious friend had cried 'daddy' when her father had appeared. Jane either missed, or simply didn't care about, the look Shuri sent her; she was far too excited.

"Come. Let me show you Asgard." Grabbing her father's hand she led the way out of the Bifrost and onto the bridge. A skiff awaited them, Thor having refused to let Jane walk from the palace as she once would have, though she ignored it now, talking animatedly with her father and Erik about the rainbow bridge as they walked.

"All these years later and I still have no idea what they're talking about." Darcy said, looping her arm through Thor's as they followed close behind.

"Even I only understand half of what Jane is saying once she gets talking about science." Thor admitted readily. As they passed the skiff he told the pilot to follow close behind. No matter that Jane wished to walk now, he knew they'd not even make it half way back before she grew too tired to continue on foot. Feeling Dary's arm tighten on his he turned to look at her and saw her eyes widen and mouth hanging open, having gotten her first true glimpse of Asgard.

"Ok…wow." Was all she managed to say and Thor laughed. They continued to walk as they went, Shuri joining in the conversation, until Thor's prediction came true and they took the skiff the rest of the way back. As they disembarked and made their way through the palace Richard, Erik and Darcy were reminded that Jane was now a Queen. Asgardians stopped in the halls to bow as she passed, many murmuring 'My Queen' or 'Your Majesty'. They had known, of course, that she was now a Queen, but on her brief visit to Earth it had only been Sif, Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral who had shown any kind of obeisance to her, while here it was everyone and it really hit home that their daughter and friend was truly a ruling monarch. The three were shown to their rooms and given Asgardian clothing, much to Darcy's delight; she may not be a shopaholic or fashionista, but getting to wear such clothes was something she could certainly get excited about. A feast had been planned for that evening to welcome the family of Asgard's Queen, and welcomed they were, not one person was rude, condescending or in anyway unwelcoming to the humans. They were all quite popular actually, every courtier wanting to get to know them for varying reasons whether it be general curiosity, a genuine desire to know the family of one who had become a friend, or a selfish interest in knowing ones so close to the throne. They saw quickly what Jane meant about Asgard being like living in a very advanced past. The technology and inclusiveness were impossible to miss and were relatively new concepts on Earth, while at the same time there were still those vying for the favour of the King and Queen as people had in centuries passed. The feast was well underway, though far from over, when Jane stood suddenly alongside Darcy, Sif and Shuri. Everyone stood when their Queen did, the feast coming to a halt, though it resumed when the four left under the pretence of going to gossip. Most courtiers accepted this excuse, believing that while their Queen was very intelligent and wise, she was still a woman and so prone to such things. It was an image Jane purposefully didn't refute for it had it's advantages, exactly like now. Those who knew her, however, were not fooled.

"Do you know what's going on?" Erik asked and Thor shook his head.

"They are plotting something, I have no doubt." He seemed unconcerned and so Erik and Richard returned to their conversations, expecting the girls to return shortly. An hour passed without their return and Thor was beginning to worry. He had thought that Jane had merely had to use the bathroom – this being a very common occurrence this late in her pregnancy – and she'd dragged the girls along for some plotting, of what he wasn't entirely sure, though he expected it to be something to do with her research or how best Sif could torture him in their next training session. He had expected her to have returned by now and was about to go in search of her when someone arrived with the answer.

"My King." He was surprised to see it was the midwife who addressed him and his worry rose.

"What is it, what's happened?" He asked none too quietly, drawing the attention of his father-in-law and friends who sat nearby.

"The Queen is in labour, my King."

" _WHAT?!"  
_


	6. Loki's Warning

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers.  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 6 – Loki's Warning**

* * *

The feast came to an abrupt halt at Thor's shout.

"Take me to her." He demanded. "Out of my way!" He snapped at everyone and no one, for no one was in his way. Though he had asked the midwife to take him to his wife, Thor began to run much faster then the midwife could and it wasn't long before he'd left her behind. His legs carried him to the healing chambers, or hospital as Jane called it, knowing that was where she would be; she had refused to give birth in their own chambers, not wanting the mess of childbirth to be in any way associated with their bedchamber. "Jane!" He cried as he burst into the room, quickly locating her reclining in a bed on the far wall, her friends surrounding her.

"Thor!" She gasped, a pained look on her face, he having caught her in the middle of a contraction.

"This is why you left abruptly. Why didn't you tell me?" He scolded, earning a black look in return.

"Not everything is about you!" She snapped. "In fact this is all about me, so you can shut up and hold my hand or get the hell out because I am not dealing with your bull shit right now. Oh, and if I hear the words 'just breathe' come out of your mouth, I swear to god I will find a way for you to deliver this child yourself, got it?" Thor wisely kept his mouth shut and simply nodded, offering her his hand and trying not to cringe at the force with which she crushed it. When the contraction ended and she relaxed finally, Thor got his hand back and shook it to regain some feeling, though he knew it would be only a small reprieve. Richard, Erik, and the Warriors Three chose that moment to enter, being followed by several others, while many curious faces could be seen in the doorway.

"That kid sure picked a hell of a time." Richard muttered, coming to kiss his daughter on the forehead.

"Yeah. He was just waiting until you got here apparently." She said. "And I'm so glad he did."

"Me too, sweetie."

"I'm so glad you're all here." She said, looking to Erik who smiled brightly; he was almost as excited about the birth of this child as Richard was. As he had been a secondary father figure to Jane, he had no doubt he'd be another grandfather to her child. "That goes for all of you as well, thank you for your support." She now addressed the gathered crowd. "However, when I said _'here'_ I don't actually mean in this room. You have no choice in staying," She said to Thor. "You three can stay for a bit longer if you want," This was said to her three female friends. "But the rest of you…get the hell out!" The Asgardians scrambled to do as they were told, Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral staying but a moment longer to offer congratulations and say they would be nearby if needed. "You guys too." She said to Richard and Erik. "Out please. I don't need you in the delivery room with me." And they had no desire to be there either and so retreated to wait with the Warriors Three. A few hours and several contractions later, Sif, Shuri and Darcy left as well, leaving Thor and Jane alone right when her contractions were now coming quickly. A couple more hours later, Thor was presented with a tiny bundle swaddled snugly by the midwife. He stared in awe as he moved ever to carefully back to the bed and placed his child in Jane's waiting arms.

"Say hello to our daughter." He said in a whisper, unsure if she was asleep or simply calm for the moment, but not willing to risk it either way. Jane couldn't find the words as she gazed down at her baby and so settled for simply smiling, the two new parents gazing lovingly down at their child.

"She's beautiful." Jane finally said and Thor couldn't agree more.

"As beautiful as her mother. What should we call her? We never did choose a name." They had discussed it of course, but no name had actually been chosen.

"What about-" Jane cut off as the doors burst open, revealing a haggard looking guard closely followed by four murderous looking warriors.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Thor demanded in a whispered shout. The doors banging open had thankfully not disturbed his daughter and he wasn't going to risk it by shouting.

"Apologies, my King, my Queen." Volstagg growled, taking his cue from Thor and growling quietly. "Apparently Heimdall requests your presence. The guard would not listen when we said it was impossible at this moment."

"We will take him out." Fandral agreed.

"My King, I apologize but Heimdall was most insistent." The guard was at least smart enough to speak quietly so as not to disturb the newborn. "He said no matter who tried to stop me I must ensure you go see him immediately." Thor opened his mouth to reprimand the guard but Jane's hand on arm stopped him.

"Heimdall would not have called for you now if it wasn't urgent." She said. "Though he was kind enough to wait until she was born." The all-seeing Gatekeeper would no doubt had known the moment his new Princess was born and the guard's appearance so soon after said that he had waited until it was over to send for Thor.

"Very well." He both sighed and snapped, not at all happy about being called away from his family just now. Instructing Sif to stay with Jane, and the others to fetch her father and family, Thor summoned Mjölnir and flew to the Bifrost wanting to get there and back as quickly as possible.

"Congratulations on your daughter." Heimdall said from his usual perch looking out into the cosmos as he approached.

"Thank you, my friend." Although annoyed, Thor could not help but be happy at the mere mention of his child. "Now what is so urgent you tear me away from her so soon after her birth?"

"Thanos is on the move." He got straight to the point. "He comes-" Heimdall's head snapped to the right, though he still looked out over the Nine Realms.

"Heimdall, what is it?" Thor's urgency rose as Heimdall did not answer, instead he ran quickly to the centre of the room and dropped his sword into its sheath, activating the Bifrost. Thor looked to the gateway and held Mjölnir aloft. Heimdall had mentioned Thanos before and while there was no doubt in Thor's mind that the Gatekeeper would never have opened the Bifrost if it would bring danger to Asgard, there was no telling who was coming through and they could still pose a threat. Finally a figure appeared, except instead of posing even the smallest of threats the figure collapsed, his jet-black hair all too recognizable.

"Loki!" Thor cried, dropping Mjölnir and rushing to his brother's side. Asgard's once fallen prince was clearly injured, though he was far from dead.

"Yes, press your thumb into my wound, that won't make it hurt at all." He groaned, pushing at Thor who relented only enough to loosen his grip.

"What happened?" Thor asked.

"I got made, as they say on Earth. Thanos discovered my trickery when I used my magic to allow Heimdall to see him this time."

"Yet you live." Thor was both immensely grateful and confused. If Thanos discovered Loki was betraying him, why did he leave him alive?

"Only because I was rescued before he could inflict too much damage." Loki replied. "My thanks, Gatekeeper." Heimdall merely nodded, removing his sword from its sheath, closing the Bifrost once more. "But now he knows I ticked him and will no doubt be out for blood even more."

"Before bringing you home, Heimdall said he comes, but did not say when."

"He comes." Loki repeated, this clearly being an agreement with Heimdall, and the fact that he did not elaborate told Thor their time was very short indeed.

"Heimdall, open the Bifrost to no one." Thor commanded. "I will not give him another gateway here unnecessarily." Heimdall nodded as Thor hoisted Loki onto his back and summoned Mjölnir, flying them both back to the palace. There was quite a commotion when they appeared and approached the healing chambers, there still being a large crowd outside.

"What happened?!" Sif was both surprisingly, and unsurprisingly, the first who rushed to their side, helping support Loki.

"I missed you too, Sif." Even injured as he was, Loki could not help his response. Asgard's lone female warrior growled warningly but otherwise did nothing; there would be time later for revenge when he wasn't injured.

"Thanos happened." Thor explained. "Summon the council immediately, we meet as soon as I have seen my brother inside." Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun rushed off, though Sif remained. "Warn your people that he comes swiftly." Thor said to the Wakandans. "We have not much time." Ayo nodded and she and Teela herded their Princess away at same time that they activated their Kimoyo Beads to call home. Thor then turned back to Loki, the crowd having reminded him of what waited inside. "Can you stay silent, with how injured you are? I will not have her disturbed." Loki looked confused, it was an odd question, but he nodded nonetheless and allowed Thor and Sif to all but carry him inside. Richard, Erik and Darcy were surrounding her when they entered, though they weren't so crowded as to block her view.

"Loki!" She gasped, sitting up swiftly and disturbing the child in her arms who began to cry. Jane immediately turned her attention to her daughter and soothed her, unaware the Loki's head had snapped in her directly when the baby began crying, nor that his cry of pain had joined the newborn's.

"I see my niece has been born." He commented as Thor and Sif saw him into the bed next to Jane's before Sif ran out for the healer.

"Yes. You were right, it was a girl." Said Jane. "Now what happened?!" Not even her newborn daughter was to deter her from this line of inquiry given her brother-in-law was injured.

"Thanos discovered my trickery and decided to kill me." He said plainly.

"I see he didn't succeed though." Erik muttered, sounding disappointed. He had known that Loki was alive, they had not kept that a secret from him, though he had not come face to face with Loki until now.

"Which we are happy about." Jane ground out, shooting Darcy a withering look when she opened her mouth, no doubt to agree with Erik. The head healer chose that moment to enter followed by her team and they began work on healing Loki. Unsurprisingly the noise woke the baby, who was not having a restful first hour of life. Jane and Thor both tried to soothe her but with no luck and were starting to get quite overwhelmed when the head healer approached.

"She is hungry." She spoke softly.

"Oh…" Jane muttered, feeling her heart drop. What kind of mother didn't realize her child was hungry?

"You will quickly learn to distinguish her cries. And you are not an ill fit mother for not realizing it within the first hour of her life." Clearly the head healer was a mind reader, Jane thought, though her logical words helped to calm her. "I only know for I am a mother myself. And I have delivered many a babe, including the Allfather here. He had the same hearty cry when hungry as this one." She winked at Jane who laughed, much to Thor's chagrin.

"Loki?" He asked, changing the subject.

"The Prince will be fine." The healer waved off his concern. "He will be healed in no time at all. Now, feed the Princess." That said she closed a privacy curtain and left the two alone with their child. Jane didn't hesitate then and lowered her gown, bringing their daughter to her breast. It was instinctual from there; the babe latched on and began drinking her fill. Jane and Thor sat there watching their daughter in awe for awhile before Thor spoke.

"So about that name…"

"Aerith." Jane said softly. "Aerith Lucy Thorsdóttir." Even though she had had years to get used to it, the idea that on Asgard people didn't have last names but were known as their father's first name with son or dóttir – old Norse for daughter – at the end, still seemed unusual to her. However, that is how things were done on Asgard and who was she to fight tradition? At least, she wouldn't fight all of them. Asgardians did not have middle names either, though that was an Earth custom she had fought for, and one Thor had not fought against.

"Named after Asgard's last Queen Regent." Thor noted. "Fitting that she will be the next." Unlike on Earth, Asgard's laws of succession were not patriarchal so even if they had a son later on, Aerith would always be Asgard's next ruler and Allmother. There had not been a Queen Regent in several millennia, though of course several millennia on Asgard was really only two or three generations. The last Queen Aerith was Thor's great-grandmother who's firstborn had been a son, King Bor, who's firstborn in turn had been Odin who's only child, biologically speaking, was Thor. Jane had been quite happy to discover that the cards had merely fallen that way, that for three generations sons were the firstborn, instead of them having older sisters they'd displaced for the throne by virtue of being male. "And named for a beloved mother." As middle names were not an Asgardian tradition, they had agreed that they would use an Asgardian first name for the heir to the throne and a Midgardian middle name. That was as far as they had gotten on definite decision making regarding their child's name, though at one point or another both Aerith and Lucy had been suggested for the exact reasons that Thor now said.

"Do you like it?" Jane looked up at him so hopefully – though he doubted she realized her hope shone through – that even if he didn't like the names he likely wouldn't saw so.

"Yes." He said simply, leaning down to kiss his wife. Jane leaned up to meet him and in the process Aerith lost her food source and made her displeasure known.

"Oh I'm sorry, darling." Jane murmured trying to get her daughter to latch on again while Thor looked on amused. It was to no avail though, with her food source gone, Aerith had decided that her meal was over.

"Here, let me." Said Thor, taking his tiny daughter into his arm and, supporting her head, began to rub her back to try and get her to burp. "See? Those classes were not wasted on me." He said proudly when he succeeded.

"Those were not _classes._ " Said Jane. Birthing and parenting classes that were quite common on Earth were unsurprisingly not common on Asgard. Still, Jane had insisted they meet with the midwife for similar lessons, one of which was how to burp a newborn. "And they were totally wasted on you."

"If you two are done being sickeningly sweet." Loki spoke up from the other side of the curtain. Thor and Jane shared a look and chuckled, having forgotten he was there. "And where else would I be when I was only just beaten by the Mad Titan?" Thor growled.

"Do not read my mind, brother." Cradling his daughter securely in one of his impressively large arms, Thor yanked the curtain open and glared at his brother. Loki merely rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, we all know how your thoughts are so secret," His sarcasm was clear. "And have not at all been filled with a certain former mortal turned Queen for the passed several years." Thor blushed and Jane smiled behind his back, earning a wink from Loki. "May I see her?" Thor raised an eyebrow but otherwise did not hesitate to hand his daughter over to Loki. His expression softened the moment he held her and a small smile appeared on his face while his eyes filled with longing; Thor did not have to be able to read minds to know that Loki secretly wanted children of his own. He also didn't have to be a mind reader to know that Loki thought no one would ever love him enough to want to have children with him, something Thor was determined to change after the threat of Thanos was gone, and he knew just the female warrior to aid him, whether she consciously wanted to or not.

"He comes, brother." Loki said not taking his eyes off his niece. Thor didn't even scold Loki for reading his thoughts this time.

"I know. I go to meet the council now." He had forgotten all about the council meeting and was actually surprised that they had not come to fetch him.

"No, I mean he comes _now._ " Loki replied. "I can sense him, after all this time." Loki finally tore his gaze away from Aerith and looked up at his brother. "The Mad Titan approaches as we speak."

* * *

 **A/N - Sweet moment with Loki and Aerith, however brief.**

 **Review please!**


	7. The Mad Titan

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers.  
_

* * *

 **Chapter 7 – The Mad Titan**

* * *

Thor summoned Asgard's army and had them move quickly to evacuate the people. They were housed inside the palace within the protective shield, which had seen some updates. After Malekith's Kursed had easily destroyed the shield at its source, Thor, upon taking the throne, had worked with Heimdall, Jane and Loki to ensure that the shield's generator was protected as well. Once Heimdall activated the shield, a similar, near impenetrable shield would immediately protect the generator as the main shield grew over the palace. A third shield would protect the Bifrost, allowing Heimdall to join the fight, albeit without his usual weapon. It was a protective measure Thor noted his father should have thought of long ago and one Loki noted he had thought of, though as he was disguised as Odin at the time he'd been unable to implement the plan, not possessing Odin's powers and having to stay as far away from Heimdall as possible, lest his cover be blown. The shield would also not destroy anything that touched it now. With Loki's help, Thor had enacted a complex bit of magic that would enable the shield to recognize those of Asgard and would allow them to come and go as needed, giving them a safe retreat inside the palace should things go south. It would also allow Heimdall a safe retreat and to collect his sword or even open the Bifrost if needed, all while battle waged around him.

Having seen the people to safety and the shield activated, Thor ordered the army to gather in the main courtyard in preparation to meet Thanos before he returned to the royal chambers where his family waited.

"Everyone is safe." He assured mainly Jane, though everyone was glad to hear it. "The army is gathering and we shall meet Thanos in battle soon; Heimdall says he is close."

"Be careful." Jane murmured, though she shed no tears having long ago accepted that he would never not go off to war if it was needed. Thor smiled softly and pulled her to him, though did so carefully, completely aware of the infant she held.

"I will do all I can to return to you. And Aerith." He promised. It was the promise he made every time he left her, knowing that he could not promise to return. After a moment, he pulled away and bent to kiss his daughter, gently touching her head with a hand that seemed far too large in comparison to the tiny newborn. He then turned to the others gathered. "You will be safest here, please do not leave." Richard, Erik and Darcy nodded, as did Shuri and her guards, both of whom looked ready for battle. "The war will not be decided here today, there are too many Infinity Stones for him to gather still. Our goal is to drive him back, and as soon as it is safe we shall send you home."

"The King has been informed of the battle taking place here." Said Ayo. "He wants the Princess home with him as soon as possible. Though he does not doubt that she is safe with you." Thor nodded in thanks at the trust he was being shown. "Wakanda's army is on standby. If needed, and if the Bifrost can be opened to them, the Black Panther will lead our warriors and join you here in battle."

"King T'Challa has my thanks for his offer, but it will not be necessary. Though not at full strength as we once were, Asgard's forces will be enough to see the Mad Titan retreat this time. I will see to it." He muttered darkly and Ayo and Teela both nodded, though neither looked happy.

"Ready, brother?" Loki spoke up. He had stood off to the side and not come forward to say goodbye, fully intending to join his brother in battle, as indicated by the full armour that he willed his magic to appear.

"You are going nowhere." Thor said and held up a hand to silence him. "I do not think you weak, brother, even though you are still injured. I need you to protect them." To the two who knew him best, he was begging. His tone had barely changed, but both Jane and Loki heard the slight tremor, the uncertainty and fear, in his voice. Not liking it but wanting his sister and niece to be safe as well – and knowing that one more good hit from Thanos could finish him – Loki agreed. As Thor had said, this would not be the final battle, but was merely a mission to force Thanos to retreat until they could better prepare; he would sit this one out to fight in the final battle to come. Smiling at his brother, Thor clasped his hand in thanks.

"Do not listen too closely when he speaks, his words can be far more than suggestive." Loki warned. "He goes for the easy kill, thinking his power too great to be stopped even if his attack his obvious, but his Children, they will be far more devious." Thor nodded, taking the advice for what it was.

"Thank you, Loki."

"And do try not to get killed. Aerith is far too young to become Queen."

"Then it is a good thing she will have a strong and wise regent to rule for her and guide her as she grows, though I will do all I can to make sure it is unnecessary." Loki looked confused for Thor had continued to look at him as he spoke. "Jane. I meant Jane, not you."

"Ah." He should have known.

"Though I expect her Uncle Loki to be a fixture in her life, whether I am here or not." He said too quietly for others to hear. Loki gave his usual smirk, but the softer tone of his eyes said how much the words meant to him, hearing the acceptance he had longed for, though fought against for so long. Turning from his brother, Thor faced his wife once more just in time to catch her as she jumped into his arms, having handed Aertih to her father. Their lips locked and Thor was only too happy to reciprocate the kiss, though neither allowed it to last for long, knowing what was coming.

"Be careful." She said again. Thor merely nodded and held out his hand, Mjölnir flying into it.

"You as well." He held out his trusty hammer and Jane took it, Mjölnir still being just as light as it had been when she'd held it for the first time. Stepping back, Thor summoned Gungnir, the Allfather's weapon appearing in his hand. Mjölnir had stopped being his primary weapon some time ago, Gungnir being far more powerful when in the hands of Asgard's King, though he often used it still, especially as a tool as they re-built Asgard. Though more powerful, one of the disadvantages of Gungnir was that he couldn't fly with it and so found himself walking down to the courtyard. Still it was worth it to leave it with Jane, who at the very least could hit an opponent with it before simply dropping it on top of them, leaving them unable to get up under Mjölnir's weight until one of them removed it. The army parted for their King as he made his way to the front lines, joining his friends.

"Heimdall has returned to the Bifrost, he says we have only minutes." Volstagg reported. Thor nodded and they waited for barely two minutes before a giant ship was seen heading their way. It neither sped towards them nor attacked, the titan inside clearly not feeling the need for a pre-emptive strike. The ship landed and Thanos himself disembarked, followed by several of his disciples.

"The throne of Asgard sits heavily on your shoulders, little King." He said as he approached.

"A throne that weighs nothing is a hollow one," Thor replied. "And would require no King to sit on it." Thanos laughed.

"Barely two years into your reign and you are already spouting the same rubbish disguised as wisdom that Odin did. But you are no Allfather."

"It is true that I am not my father, and I have much to learn about being King. But I am the Allfather, protector of the Nine Realms. And you will go no further, Titan." He grasped Gungnir more tightly, shifting it in preparation for an attack that didn't come.

"Hm. You are either very brave or very foolish, Asgardian." Thanos was not impressed.

"My Queen would say both." Thanos' lip twitched upwards. "What is it you want, Thanos?" If he wasn't going to immediately flight, Thor might as well try and get him talking.

"You know what I want."

"I will not give you the Infinity Stone you seek." The Tesseract being on Asgard was not exactly a secret, though the Soul Stone would not be mentioned, no matter what trick Thanos tried. The Mad Titan raised an eyebrow now, not looking impressed.

" _Stone?_ You speak of only one. No, little King. It has long been said that Asgard houses the Soul Stone. I will have that one as well."

"You base your actions on mere rumours, now?" Thor asked with his own raised eyebrow. "If we had the Soul Stone do you not think we would have finished you long ago, before you got your hands on my brother?" He let his genuine anger over Thanos' manipulation of Loki show. "The Soul Stone is said to be the most powerful of all. If we had it you would not be here." It was said with such conviction that Thanos had to wonder if he was telling the truth. Usually his magic would be able to tell if someone was trying to trick him – it was one of the reasons he was so angry at Loki for having tricked him – but Asgard itself would protect its King, including from his searching magic.

"The traitor will be dealt with in time." He said, his thoughts having been turned to Loki. "But for now I will have the Tesseract."

"To what purpose?" Thor would keep him talking as long as possible. "You would simply rule the galaxy, as if it is your due?"

"I do not seek to rule anything." He confessed much to everyone's shock. "I simply seek the balance the galaxy needs."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Everything must be in balance, including the galaxy." He said. "It's simple calculus. This universe has finite resources. _Finite_. If life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correcting." That did not sit well with anyone.

"And in this _correcting,_ you would see to the deaths of half the universe." Thor growled.

"It is what is necessary for survival."

"You don't know that!" He was understandably incensed.

"I'm the only one who knows that. At least, I'm the only one with the will to act on it."

"How do you suppose that? How do you _know_ what no one else does?"

"I have seen all I need to in my life to-"

"So has Asgard!" The thought of half the universe being killed was enough to make him angry, but with his child having been born this same day…he did not think he could be angrier if he tried. "You think you have seen more than Asgard? More than my father and the Kings that came before him? You may have lived for almost a millennia, but you cannot claim that is has made you all-knowing when we have been around even longer, and are the protectors of the Nine Realms. If there was such a danger we would have dealt with it. Right now the only danger I see is you!"

"Asgard has been blind. I've given you 'protectors' long enough to act and you haven't. So now I will."

"I will not let you harm anyone." He raised Gungnir threateningly, though Thanos merely smirked.

"So be it, Asgardian." Without even a word from their leader, Thanos' disciples launched on the attack. Thor was ready for them and let loose a powerful blast from Gungnir, destroying those first to attack. The second wave was quickly upon him, and his friends and the rest of Asgard's army joined in. While a powerful weapon, Gungnir was not quite as handy in close combat as Mjölnir had been. But Thor had been training with Gungnir for a time now and knew its tip to be as sharp as a sword, while its height allowed him to use it much like a spear, or a staff, depending how he chose to fight with it. His own lightning was a great addition, and though he no longer had Mjölnir to knock opponents back, he found the lightning much more effective. Finding an opening, Thor jumped into the air and allowed his lightning lose, his eyes glowing with the power flowing through him. When he landed, the lightning dispersed and took out a good chunk of their enemies. He was immediately alert to an oncoming threat in the form of one of Thanos' Children. Sidestepping the initial strike, Thor engaged her in battle, finder her a worthy opponent, though with what was at stake there was only one way a fight with one of the minions was going to end. Using his lightning, Thor sent his opponent flying. Seeing that she was going to collide with the protective shield, the one that would destroy any non-Asgardian, he turned from her to block Thanos' own attack, the Mad Titan having joined the battle properly now. So wrapped up in his new fight, Thor never noticed that the child of Thanos was not destroyed upon hitting the shield, but rather passed right through it, and finding herself inside, she discretely made her way deeper into the palace.

 **-/-**

Loki's head snapped up and he turned away from the battle they'd been watching and towards the door, putting everyone on edge, wondering who was coming, though Loki was quick to assure them that wasn't the case.

"An intruder has entered the palace though." He told Jane.

"How? That shouldn't be possible."

"There is only one way. And I cannot believe I forgot her heritage." He appeared angry with himself, and Jane instantly understood.

"She will go for the Tesseract in the vaults. Will she be able to sense it, being so close?" They dared not speak openly about the Soul Stone, not after hearing Thor so ardently insist they didn't have it.

"I do not believe so. It has been hidden since the dawn of Asgard by powerful magic gifted to us by the One-Above-All himself. Not even Thanos can overcome such magic, let alone one of his Children, regardless of how close in proximity they are." Jane nodded.

"Then let them go." She decided and Loki nodded his acceptance.

"Hold up." Said Darcy. "Are you seriously just letting them get away with the all powerful stone? Are you insane?!"

"This battle will never end unless Thanos gets what he wants or ups his game, which we do _not_ want right now." Jane explained. "Thanos did not bring his full army for this battle and our forces are too strong against what he has brought. Unless he unleashes more of his power this won't end because his pride won't let it. Unless he gets the Space Stone he came for."

"The Queen is right." Said Loki. "Thanos will never end this and we are not prepared for the final battle here and now, which is what will happen if he truly fights back."

"This is him not fighting back?" Richard asked, fear in his voice.

"Thanos is extremely powerful and he has two Infinity Stones already. The Power Stone alone could see to the end of worlds. This is nothing compared to what is to come." Jane's words didn't sit well with any of them.

"So why do we give him _more_ power?" Teela asked. "When we can stop him here if he is not at full strength."

"Because we can't." Said Loki, trying not to sound condescending and for the most part succeeding, surprisingly enough. "The portion of his army that he brought may not be able to defeat ours, and using what little power he currently is, he cannot defeat Thor. But he has a great deal more power at his command and if we push him too far he will use it."

"If he uses the Power Stone many will die." Jane continued. "We have to end this before that." No more was said as they went back to watching the battle unfold. Thor was holding his own against Thanos, though he knew, like Loki and Jane did, that this was only a fraction of Thanos' power. The battle continued and Thor was finally beginning to think of a way to end this – for it seemed that there was no end in sight – when someone else ended it for him.

"No!" He shouted, sending a blast at the child of Thanos whom he'd thought he'd killed, but who now appeared holding the Tesseract. Thanos was quick to protect his underling who promptly handed over the cube. The battle came to a stop as Thanos, smirking, crushed the cube, revealing the Space Stone inside. Feeling rage build up, Thor unleashed a blast of lightning which managed to catch Thanos off guard; the Mad Titan having been too busy placing the stone in his gauntlet. The lightning struck him in his shoulder, leaving behind a charred scar, similar to the one Thor had given Malekith several years ago. When he went to follow up with an attack from Gungnir, Thanos used the power of his newly acquired Space Stone and disappeared, taking his minions, and his ship, with him. Thor stood there for a moment, staring at the spot where their enemy had stood before turning and barking orders.

"Get the injured to the healing chambers, convene the council. And prepare the dead to be sent to Valhalla." He said more quietly as he came upon the first body lying at his feet. "Heimdall, you may lower the shield. The people may return to their homes." He spoke to the all-seeing Gatekeeper, the shield coming down instantly. Taking only a moment to ascertain that his friends were safe – while he would mourn any who died, there was no denying that he worried for his friends most – Thor retreated into the palace and to the royal chambers.

"Thanos has the Space Stone." He reported as he walked in, looking defeated.

"We know." Said Loki and Thor's head shot up.

"You know?" He sounded suspicious.

"Aside from the fact that we just saw it," Jane spoke up, deeming it better that this came from her. "Loki sensed an intruder in the palace. We knew they would be after the stone-"

"And you didn't think to stop them?!" He shouted at Loki accusingly. Aerith, held once more in her mother's arms, began to cry at the noise and Jane shot her husband a withering look.

" _I_ told him not to." She hissed, soothing her daughter. "This battle had to end. And there was only two ways that was going to happen." She didn't need to spell out what those two ways were, even in his anger Thor knew that if Thanos hadn't gotten what he wanted soon, he would have used the Power Stone.

"How did they get inside the palace anyways?" He grumbled his reply, his anger mostly gone.

"One of Thanos' Children was once Asgardian." Loki explained. "They became…warped, a monster, under his control, but the shield still recognizes their origin as one of us." Slumping against the nearby wall, Thor nodded, his anger now fully gone, though defeat was still quite present.

"This isn't the end." Said Jane, recognizing the look in her husband's eyes. "We live to fight another day. And we _will_ take him down." Handing a now calm Aerith to Darcy, Jane walked over to Thor and gave him a quick kiss, though it told him of her relief that he was alright. "Go bathe and rest. Asgard's King has done his part, now its Queen will see to the aftermath." Standing tall, she walked out of the room to go see to her people.

 **-/-**

That evening they all gathered on the balcony overlooking the edge of the world, the same balcony Jane had stood on twice before as those that died were honoured for their sacrifice. The boats carrying the dead floated gently towards the waterfall that literally fell into nothingness, the blackness of space being all there was beneath. Thor and Jane stood in the very centre, Thor holding Gungnir and wearing his ceremonial helmet, while Jane held a sleeping Aerith, who at not even a day old was attending her first funeral. When the boats were far enough away Thor inclined Gungnir as his father once had and the soldiers behind him lit their arrows, firing them at the boats, which begun to burn. They continued towards the edge of Asgard, but right when they would fall off, Thor banged Gungnir on the ground and the boats floated passed the waterfall's edge. The orbs of light that Jane had once been fascinated by were released. They were said to guide the way as the souls of the dead were welcomed into Valhalla, and Jane could see the truth in the tradition, as she watched the bodies disintegrate and follow the orbs up into the heavens.

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 **A/N - Thanos has arrived, and next up we return to Earth!**

 **Review please!**


	8. Avengers Assemble

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers.  
_

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 **Chapter 8 – Avengers Assemble**

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Loki estimated they had about a week before Thanos attacked again, and that this time the attack would take place on Earth. He would spend a bit of time trying to find out if Thor had been lying about having the Soul Stone, and when he couldn't corroborate the rumours in a week – no one had been able to since the dawn of Asgard, there was little doubt Thanos would fail in a search of only a few days – he would then turn his sights on obtaining the two Infinity Stones who's locations were known to him. Loki was a bit off in his estimation though, as they learned from Shuri. There had already been an attack on Earth, though not by Thanos himself; he had sent his disciples down there to locate the stones. Luckily they'd been beaten back and no other stones were in the Mad Titan's possession. The group remained on Asgard for a few days more, mainly to allow time for Loki to heal and for Aerith, whom they were hesitant to take to another realm after she had just been born. The healers, however, assured them that no illness or disease on Midgard could harm an Asgardian, not even newborns, who were more resistant to illness then a full grown human, so they were calmer about travelling to Earth with her at only a few days old. Shuri had contacted her brother and after a quick discussion between T'Challa and Thor, it was agreed that Wakanda would be the ideal site of the coming battle. They had vast plains with no one around for miles that would be ideal for a large battle, while the proximity to Shuri's lab would give them access to all the weapons Wakanda had to offer. Four days after Thanos' first attack the Bifrost opened onto the main landing pad of the royal palace. T'Challa and his mother stood ready to greet them, surrounded by the Dora Milaje who saluted their Princess as she came forward excitedly, beginning to explain things to her brother rapidly in their native language.

"Shuri…" Her mother scolded after a minute when their guests approached and it didn't look like her daughter was going to stop talking.

"Sorry, mother." She said immediately, stepping back to give the introductions. "Thor, Jane, this is my mother, Ramonda, Queen Mother of Wakanda. Mother, this is King Thor and Queen Jane of Asgard. And their adorable daughter, Princess Aerith."

"Thank you for having us." Said Jane.

"Thank _you_ for putting up with my daughter these last months." Shuri scowled.

"Princess Shuri was a pleasure to have on Asgard." Jane dismissed the obvious worry in Ramonda's eyes. "Her knowledge of Vibranium is unparalleled and she has done much to help us rebuild after Ragnarok." Shuri stuck out her tongue, earning a withering look from her mother.

"Though I see her time with you has done nothing for her maturity." T'Challa commented, looking as unimpressed with Shuri as their mother, though his sister could care less about his annoyance.

"She was the picture of a perfect guest while with us, I assure you." Said Thor. T'Challa wasn't sure he believed that, but decided to let it drop.

"Congratulations on your daughter's birth." He said instead. Thor and Jane both smiled brightly, turning their attention to the child held securely in her father's arms. "I am sorry it was the same day as the attack." Ayo and Teela and kept him well informed of what had happened.

"As are we. But it does not diminish our joy." He continued to smile down at the baby, his gaze lasting a little too long for some people's taste.

"Perhaps we can get to the task at hand?" Thor rolled his eyes and sent a glare at Loki, but otherwise had to agree.

"King T'Challa, you remember my brother, Loki." The two nodded to each other. "As well as Lady Sif and the Warriors Three and Darcy. But I don't believe you've met my father-in-law, Dr. Richard Foster, nor our friend Erik Selvig." That was the entirety of the group who had travelled from Asgard, the rest of the army staying on standby so as not to overwhelm their hosts; Heimdall would send them when they knew the attack was more imminent.

"Come, we are gathered in the council chambers." With the introductions and pleasantries gone, T'Challa led them inside the palace, where others were waiting for them.

"Janie!" Fandral scowled like before, though didn't try and stop Tony's greeting this time. "And Point Br-baby." He'd turned to greet Thor but naturally his attention was drawn to the tiny being in his arms.

"Our daughter, Aerith." Jane said with a roll of her eyes. Gently she took her daughter from Thor and passed her to Tony, effectively silencing him as he froze, a look of horror on his face.

"Well if I knew all it took to shut him up was handing him a baby I'd have done it years ago." Said Pepper, coming forward to greet her friend.

"I didn't expect to find you here." Jane only too happily reciprocated the hug.

"I didn't really have a choice. After the attack on Vision and given what's coming Tony didn't give me one. In fact, we're all here." Looking around, Jane saw that indeed the family and significant others of all the Avengers were indeed present, though there weren't many; most people in their position finding it hard to have relationships. Clint's wife and three children were there and they were the only ones Jane recognized. They were quickly introduced to Peter's Aunt May and Scott's daughter, Cassie, along with her mother Maggie, and stepfather, Jim, whom Scott considered family. Then there were three other newcomers, one of whom was a newly minted Avenger herself: Hope van Dyne, aka the Wasp and Scott's partner. Alongside her were her parents, Hank Pym – a technological genius, and the original Ant-Man, who had once worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. – and Janet van Dyne – also a technological genius, and the original Wasp, who had also once worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. – who had apparently been missing for along time, though they were told not to ask about it.  
"Can someone take her?" Tony squeaked, still having not moved a muscle. Jane once again rolled her eyes and moved to take her daughter, but Loki beat her to it.

"You do not have a way children, Stark?" He asked, cradling Aerith quite naturally. "I'm surprised, given you're practically still a child yourself."

"Loki enough." Said Thor.

"And you _do_ have a way with kids." Tony's expression was torn between incredulous and disgusted, seeing the baby snuggle deeper into Loki's arms. "Given you killed hundreds of them on your third most recent visit to Earth, I'm kind of surprised."

"Tony!" Pepper admonished.

"Have care how you speak, Stark." Thor growled warningly. "Loki has done much wrong in his past, it is true, but much of it was Thanos' doing and he has worked hard to make amends. And if that is not enough," He spoke over an interruption. "Remember that Loki is a Prince of Asgard, second in line for the throne after our daughter," Loki's head snapped in Thor's direction and the brothers' shared a look. Loki knew he was still considered a Prince of Asgard, but had thought that his actions, and his true parentage, would disqualify him from ever inheriting the throne. Thor's words proved differently and said much of the trust that had been regained between them; it was a sentiment that had not been spoken of before and made Loki's heart lighten, though he would never admit to it. "And I will not tolerate such disrespect. Nor do I think King T'Challa would tolerate such disrespect to his sister."

"No, I would not." T'Challa replied. His expression was unreadable, though there was a hardness in his eyes that was backed up by Okoye's fierce glare; she clearly disliked Tony with a passion.

"To be fair though, Shuri hasn't killed-"

"That's enough out of you." Pepper snapped, pulling Tony away and muttering lowly to him. Whatever she said it was effective for he said no more and stood quietly in the back.

"Well, now that that's out of the way." Steve said coming forward. "Perhaps you'd like to hear our plans?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Actually, Thor would love to hear your plans." Jane interrupted. "I have a daughter to feed, who'll get very cranky soon if I don't." Loki handed Aerith to her mother. "Thor will fill me in later."

"I guess caring for her doesn't stop just because the fate of the universe is at stake." Steve acknowledged amusedly.

"No, she wouldn't let it." Jane replied in the same tone, though she felt the weight of his words; he may have been joking, but what he said was still true.

"We'll come with you." Said Laura, taking her three-year-old son by the hand and ushering her two eldest out of the room in a clear attempt to not let her children hear war planning.

"Agreed." Said Scott, gently but firmly pushing Cassie to follow even as Maggie grabbed her daughter's hand and began to leave, though Jim stayed behind.

 **-/-**

Jane had a moment alone – or mostly alone, she didn't count her newborn daughter – and she had to admit she was relishing it. As Queen of Asgard it wasn't often that she was alone. Laura and Maggie had taken their children outside to play after awhile while Jane elected to stay inside, Aerith having just fallen asleep after being fed. She was alone in the antechamber off the throne room where Thor and everyone else was still gathered and she herself was starting to drift off as she often did when Aerith napped; she and Thor having quickly learned to sleep when their daughter did, no matter the time of day. However, she apparently wasn't meant to sleep now as her nap was interrupted before it even began.

"Who are you?" A voice spoke and Jane's head snapped in the direction of the door where a rather large group of men and women stood. They looked dangerous, all of them clearly warriors of Wakanda, if the way they were dressed was anything to go by, though she had not seen this particular get up before, and their open hostility made he question whether her first assessment of them was right. "I said who are you?" The one in front, clearly their leader and the most dangerous looking of them all, said again.

"Jane." She replied simply. Not knowing these people she wasn't about to give a full royal introduction, though she did stand, her daughter in her arms, though still prepared to defend herself and her child if needed.

"That tells me nothing. You are an outsider, yet so close to the throne room." The man came fully into the room, the others following him.

"Don't come any closer." She warned, turning and holding Aerith away from the man.

"The child is safe." He assured her, it having been impossible to miss her actions. "But you are not unless I get a proper answer." Jane believed him, for some reason, when he said he wouldn't hurt her child, but that didn't mean she trusted him.

"I'm here at the invitation of King T'Challa. That's all you need to know." It had been a few years now since anyone questioned her like this, and Jane found her pride as a queen coming out. The man smiled sardonically, clearing not believing her.

"I'm not in the habit of believing outsiders. You'll come with me until I find out the truth." He reached for her and Jane acted instinctively. Reaching out her hand she summoned Mjölnir, the hammer smashing through the wall from the other room where it had been with Thor. She held her daughter a little more tightly as the weapon flew into her hand and she swung it, knocking the man back. She held Mjölnir against him, keeping him pinned down as the others that had been with him moved into a defensive pose, only not attacking because their leader at her mercy. Thankfully no other actions were needed. When Mjölnir left his side, Thor had known something was wrong and had rushed out of the throne room, summoning Gungnir and following the hammer.

"Jane!" He cried as he burst into the room, his heart racing as he saw his wife standing over a giant of a man holding Mjölnir, as well as their daughter who was screaming at the top of her lungs, the noise having woken her. He raised Gungnir a bit, though he wasn't the only one who came ready for battle either. Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three all had their weapons out, as did the Avengers who crowded in the doorway, though one quickly recognized the man Jane had pinned.

"M'Baku!" T'Challa called, coming into the room, his presence making the Jabari warriors stand aside, though they didn't lower their weapons, not while their leader was still down and there were others ready to attack. "What are you doing?"

"I found this outsider here. She said you invited her, so I was going to come find you to confirm but she attacked." He replied. T'Challa looked unimpressed.

"I'm guessing you decided to bring her along whether she wanted to come or not, and that is when she attacked." It wasn't a question.

"Maybe." M'Baku muttered. T'Challa sighed.

"Queen Jane is indeed my guest. And I'd take it as a great insult if she, or the young Princess, was harmed under my roof."

"Then everything is fine." M'Baku said quite amenably, and seeing the threat was gone, Jane turned her attention to her daughter, Thor rushing to her side, as they both tried to calm the baby.

"Are you alright?" Thor asked. "Aerith?"

"We're fine." She said

"Good." Said Sif, she and the others having approached as well. "It means I don't have to kill anyone today." The glare she shot at M'Baku left little doubt as to whom she'd have blamed if either Jane or Aerith was harmed.

"May I get up now?" Was his only reply, for Mjölnir still trapped him. They looked to him and Thor hesitated, sending his own glare at the Jabari leader, but eventually he summoned the hammer. M'Baku got up, not at all phased by the glares he continued to receive. "I have never known something that size to be so impossible to lift. What is it made of?" Both Jane and Thor were surprised. Given Thor's fame after joining the Avengers, everyone on Earth knew of Mjölnir and the legend surrounding it, or so they had thought.

"Mjölnir was forged in a dying star." Thor explained, not entirely sure what to make of the man before him. "It is not made of any known metal."

"Is being forged in a dying star why it is so heavy?"

"Only one who is worthy can lift it." Said T'Challa. "You have been ignoring the world for too long to not know that weapon, or that you speak to Thor, God of Thunder, and now King of Asgard." M'Baku seemed unimpressed, but he accepted the answer the turned his back to Thor and Jane, approaching T'Challa.

"Some of us prefer the old ways, as you know." M'Baku said. "We do not need the outside world."

"And the old ways would have you attack an unarmed woman with a baby?"

"You asked me here to discuss a coming invasion by outsiders and when I arrive I find an outsider inside the palace. Of course I was suspicious. " He said, with a surprisingly reasonable explanation. "Besides, the child was never in danger, and I said as much." T'Challa was still unimpressed.

"I asked you here to discuss an invasion from another _world,_ an invasion by an alien race, not by humans." M'Baku shrugged.

"An outsider is an outsider. And if she is from Asgard, then she technically is from another world, so I am right." Loki sniggered finding the amusement in all this, and even Jane could see it, though her husband and their friends did not. What mattered most to her was that Aerith had never been in danger, and she did still believe that M'Baku wouldn't have hurt her baby. T'Challa looked like he was going to argue more, but Shuri stepped in.

"Ok, if you are quite finished..." She stepped between her brother and the Jabari leader; any fear she had had of M'Baku for simply being Jabari having disappeared in the aftermath of the battle with Killmonger. "M'Baku, may I formally present Queen Jane of Asgard and her daughter Princess Aerith. They are guests here, as are many outsiders. Including her husband King Thor, who is going to stop glaring right this instant." Thor was indeed still glaring at M'Baku as he clutched Gungnir tightly, no doubt thinking that one blast from the mighty weapon would finish him off; however, after three months of having Shuri on Asgard he knew that tone well and had learned quickly that, like with Jane, Darcy, Sif, and practically every woman in his life, she was not to be challenged when using that tone. Jane's elbow to his gut backed Shuri's statement up and Thor stopped glaring, even loosening his grip on Gungnir.

"Drat." Tony muttered, having hoped for a fight. Not one that would cause too much harm, but he'd been looking for some entertainment.

"And if _you're_ quite finished…" Said Steve, shooting his own glare at Tony. "We have work to do." It was then that Jane noticed that aside from Thor, T'Challa and their guards, only Loki, Tony and Steve had come running, all the other Avengers were missing. Steve led them outside and it became clear where everyone had gone: to train under Natasha and Clint's watchful eyes. "Some of us have had a chance to fight together, but we're not a team yet."

"I take it that's about to change." Loki muttered.

"Being a team will only help against Thanos. And we can use every edge we've got." Jane reprimanded, having heard the tone of disgust in his voice. Loki may no longer be evil, or even a bad person, anymore, but that didn't mean he was suddenly a fan of team effort, a notion he deemed too sentimental.

"Exactly." Steve agreed. He stood in the front, even ahead of T'Challa, for while this might be the Black Panther's kingdom, these were the Avengers and though there'd never been a vote, Captain America was undeniably their leader. "Avengers!" He called, halting the training sessions. "Assemble!"

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 **A/N - The scene with M'Baku made me laugh. It popped into my head and wouldn't go away either, so here it is. Last update for probably 2-3 weeks, it's ridiculously busy as work right now and won't get better until mid-September. Only a few chapters left though!**

 **Reivew please!**


	9. The Battle of Wakanda

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers._

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 **Chapter 9 – The Battle of Wakanda**

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Things happened fast over the next two days as they all prepared for Thanos' arrival. There were two factions of the war effort, as Steve referred to it, the science division and the infantry – more terminology Steve brought from the Second World War – and both were busy non-stop. Jane naturally aided the science division alongside Shuri, and anyone else who'd proven themselves capable, which in this group was quite a few. Tony, Hope and Bruce though were also a part of the infantry and kept moving between the two, so their time in the lab was limited; Steve's main goal had been to train them all as a team, which wasn't possibly without all of them present. To that same end, a portion of Asgard's army arrived that first day to train alongside them, switching out every so often with other Asgardian soldiers so that they might all have trained together at least some of the time. Unfortunately for team building, Thor could not, and would not, put Asgard at risk of a sneak attack by bringing all of Asgard's army to Earth. For now it seemed that Thanos had bought into the Soul Stone not being on Asgard, but they would not risk him returning to find out for sure when their army was not there to stall him long enough for Thor to return. It was clear that Thor was in his element, even splitting his time as he was between training and his wife and daughter. Jane too was splitting her time, though more because she was still the sole source of food for Aerith, having been glad to discover that as much of the past that was still prevalent on Asgard, wetnurses were not one of them, and she refused to bottle feed unless absolutely necessary. She had just finished feeding the baby and put her down – wide awake though content – in the crib that had been brought into the lab for her when a visitor arrived.

"M'Baku." She greeted, having gotten used to the Jabari leader's presence these last two days.

"Queen Jane." While he refused to call T'Challa King, he had no such qualms about addressing her and Thor by their titles, claiming that they were ruling another world, not his country. T'Challa didn't hold it against him, hearing the teasing tone in his voice, though there was still some truth behind it. "I have come for the updated Kimoyo Beads, Shuri said they were ready."

"They are. Let me get them." She replied, going to the other side of the room and sighing when Aerith began to cry. While too young to have already become a mommy's girl, it was as if the baby could sense when Jane wasn't near and she didn't like it at all. Preparing to hand the beads to M'Baku and comfort her daughter, Jane was surprised when the crying stopped. Coming back into the main room she was even more surprised to see her child in M'Baku's arms. It was a strange sight to be sure, mostly because it was M'Baku, the hard as nails Jabari leader, but also because he dwarfed the baby. Her own father did that as well, being just as tall and heavily built, but when Thor held his daughter, it looked nothing but natural.

"Don't be so surprised." He said, having noticed her wide-eyed expression. "I have children. I know how to calm a child." Jane couldn't help but smiling.

"I admit I'm a bit startled." She said. "But not terribly surprised. Not after I saw the softness in your eyes when you look at her." He growled softly and she laughed. "Don't worry, the Great Gorilla's reputation is safe with me."

"But not me." Shuri's voice rang out. She looked far too amused and M'Baku quickly handed Aerith back to her mother, leaving both women laughing.

"Careful, Princess." He gave her his most intimidating growl, but Shuri merely scoffed.

"You don't scare me, oh mighty Gorilla." M'Baku scowled and Jane patted him on the shoulder in mock sympathy before giving him the out he was no doubt looking for.

"Here are the Kimoyo Beads." With a grunted thank you, M'Baku left and Shuri and Jane shared another laugh before getting back to work. It was a few hours later that they finally left the lab and joined the others for lunch. Meals were a time they all spent together, the parents of the group wanting time with their children and so instead of taking five minutes to shove food in their mouths whenever they had a second during training, meals had turned into a true break for them all, though especially the parents, including Thor who happily took his daughter into his arms when Jane and Shuri arrived.

"He's going to spoil her rotten." Loki muttered with a frown, having come up beside her. Jane raised an eyebrow.

"As if you won't." Loki laughed and smirked down at her.

"True."

"So any progress with Sif?" Jane then asked.

"No. Lady Sif still hates me." He had stopped lying to Jane about his developing feelings for Sif shortly before he'd gone to Thanos. Sif, however, was still very much in denial, though her feelings were there for all to see if anyone cared to look.

"She doesn't hate you." Jane said softly. "She's at war with herself because she loves you but is too stubborn to let go of the past and see that you've changed."

"But have I? You and Thor are so insistent on my goodness, regardless of my protestations and the proof of the past."

"You may be the God of Mischief and live up to your name – you're certainly a pain in the ass sometimes – but you're not evil." She replied. Loki looked like he wanted to protest but she wouldn't let him. "Not much we can do until after Thanos is defeated, but once this is over with we'll work on getting Sif to come round, even if I have to order her to stop being so stubborn." Loki laughed but it was cut short when Thor, who'd happily been cooing at his daughter – much to Tony's disgust – stood suddenly, his head snapping up towards the sky.

"Thor what is it?" Jane and Loki both rushed over, while everyone else crowded around as well.

"Heimdall." He muttered, absentmindedly handing Aerith to her mother. He appeared to be far away for a few moments before snapping back to himself. "Thanos, he moves on Asgard!" Jumping into action, Thor summoned Gungnir, banging the staff on the ground. It served two purposes, the first to summon his armour, lightning enveloping him for a moment and leaving him ready for battle. The second purpose was as a signal, for the moment they heard the echo of their King's staff, the Asgardian's present assembled instantly. "Asgard is under attack." He addressed the gathered soldiers. "Go, rally your brothers and we will protect our realm!" He raised Gungnir high, which was all the signal Heimdall needed. The Bifrost opened and the Warriors Three led the charge to gather the rest of Asgard's army for the coming attack.

"We're coming with you." Steve said, having gone to grab his shield.

"No." Said Thor. "This may be a diversion, or a trap. He cannot know for certain that the Soul Stone is indeed on Asgard, but he is certain that the other two stones he needs are here. This may be a ploy to lure half of us to Asgard before he changes course to come here for the other stones, or he may be trying to lure all the stones into one place. Either way we cannot let that happen."

"And what if you're wrong?" Rhodey asked, he and Tony having also suited up.

"Then it is still safer to have the final two stones away from him and as protected as they can be." He replied. "Do not worry. The Soul Stone stands above the others and it is under my command. I will not hesitate to use its power if necessary." Although they didn't like it, no one could argue with his logic; they had to keep the stones away from Thanos no matter what. Seeing they weren't going to fight him, Thor turned to his family.

"I'd say come back to me, but I won't ask you to make promises you can't keep." Jane muttered. She knew she wasn't going with him. Thanos had chosen to try and take them by surprise by attacking Asgard, and Aerith would be safer wherever Thanos wasn't, which meant that she was staying too.

"I will do all I can to return." He promised instead. "I love you, Jane. You and our daughter."

"And we love you." They didn't mince words for they couldn't drag it on. With a quick kiss, Thor turned to leave, only to see that he wasn't the only one who had remained: Sif and Loki stood to the side, standing close together though not touching.

"Do not die." Sif said finally.

"For the Allfather's sake?" He asked, remembering she'd said similar words when he'd gone off to face Thanos the first time. "And the Queen's, if I remember correctly."

"And for mine." Loki's eyebrows shot up, as did everyone else's. He'd only just said to Jane mere moments ago that he'd made no progress with Sif, and here she was asking him not to die for her. "Do not read too much into this." She cautioned, seeing the smile forming on his face. "I do not know what this is, but it would anger me not to find out."

"Then I will take you at your word and not read to much into it. Under one condition." Sif raised her own eyebrow now, a challenging look on her face.

"What condition?" Instead of answering her verbally, Loki bent down and kissed her. She was surprised enough not to throw him off right away and he did not linger long enough for her to regain her wits. Smiling mischievously, Loki turned and with a wave entered the Bifrost. "Loki!" Sif shouted angrily, unsheathing her sword and quickly following him. With an amused look to Jane, Thor too waved a final goodbye and entered the bridge that would take him home, Heimdall closing the Bifrost after him.

"I still don't like that he went alone." Tony muttered. Jane turned to face him.

"Aw, are you starting to care, Tony?" Although her sarcasm was loud and clear, Tony could see the real fear in her eyes.

"Yes." He said simply. Not knowing what else to do everyone returned to whatever it was they had been doing, except for those that had been training. With the battle having started and knowing that it would not only be a matter of time before it came to them, they decided that there wasn't much more they could do in terms of actual training and it was better to rest and ensure they were ready, there was only so much teamwork building they could do after all. It was then that another problem, and potential solution, at least to one problem, was presented to them. Wanda had dragged Vision to the lab and demanded to know if the Mind Stone could be separated from him without harming him.

"It's impossible, we should not be concerning ourselves with this." Vision protested, but Wanda wasn't having it.

"You're just afraid of what will happen if you do not have the Mind Stone's power within you anymore." She said.

"But it's not even possible-"

"It might be." Shuri interrupted, Jane was quick to agree.

"We've been so focused on keeping Thanos away from the stones so he wouldn't even have the chance to kill you for it we never though about if we could separate it from you."

"But-"

"Enough." Wanda snapped, using her power to move him onto the examination table. "I'm done catering to your fear of not having the stone's power. If there is a way for you to live without it, we have to take it so you _can live._ " Shuri didn't waste any time and ran a scan of Vision, a projection appearing from her Kimoyo Beads.

"The structure is polymorphic." She said.

"Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially." Said Bruce.

"Why didn't you just re-program the synapses to work collectively?" Bruce opened his mouth to answer but came up short.

"Because we didn't think of that." He muttered, looking to Tony who coughed embarrassedly.

"I'm sure you did your best." She said condescendingly, in Tony's direction.

"Can you do it?" Wanda wanted to know.

"Yes. But there are more then two trillion neurons here. One misalignment could cause a cascade of circuit failures."

"Meaning?" Steve asked.

"It's going to take time." Jane answered. "As long as you can give us." An hour was how long they had before things went to hell. An alarm sounded throughout the building suddenly, pulling their attention away from Vision, and Aerith from sleep. Shuri had things well in hand, and though she was of some use, she'd honestly been mostly getting in the way. Her specialty was the cosmos, not the brain or human – or partially human – body, so she did not feel bad for going to comfort her daughter, or going to find out what was wrong. She found no direct answer as they left the lab, though it was bad if the people running in every direction at top speed was anything to go by.

"Ayo!" She called, spotting someone she knew. "What's happening?"

"Something has entered the atmosphere and landed outside the barrier." Ayo said and Jane followed her outside where the entire army was clearly gathering.

"That's a Black Order ship." She muttered, recognizing it from her research into Thanos and anything to do with him.

"A what?" Ayo asked.

"The Children of Thanos." Jane said, continuing to analyze the ship until she saw figures emerge from the trees, and three of their own going to meet them. "Thor was right, the attack on Asgard was a diversion." She handed Aerith to a still confused Ayo. "Take her inside please." With that she rushed off to join her friends. She ran passed the gathered army and straight to the five figures standing at the barrier's edge, seeing clearly that Natasha looked truly pissed off, though it was harder to tell what Steve and T'Challa were thinking.

"You are in Wakanda now." She heard T'Challa say. "Thanos will have nothing but dust and blood." The three beings outside the barrier laughed.

"Stand aside, mortals. I will not tell you again." They were dismissive in their tone, and added a careless wave of their hand. Natasha reached for her gun and Jane took that as her cue to step in.

"Thanos will get nothing, except exactly what King T'Challa said, Proxima Midnight." The attention turned to her and instantly the dismissive attitude disappeared.

"The Queen of Asgard." Proxima's tone had turned guarded. "I would have thought you would be with your King."

"This world is under Asgard's protection. We do not abandon our own. As your brother learned the hard way."

"You will pay for his life with yours." Proxima was becoming angry and Jane decided now was the time to end the discussion.

"I doubt it." Without a backward glance Jane turned and began to walk away, clearly expecting the others to follow, which they did.

"Sorry about that." She said when they were far enough away not to be heard. "I know you've fought her once, and killed her brother, when they went after Vision the first time, but you don't really know them."

"And you do?" Natasha asked.

"The Black Order, the Children of Thanos, are almost as arrogant as he is. That is why they dismissed you. They believe Earth to be insignificant and its people weak. I let Proxima believe that Asgard protects Earth and that is why you were able to kill her brother. Not because you yourselves are strong, but because the might of Asgard was at you disposal."

"Let her believe that." Said Steve. "We'll prove her wrong." Jane smiled up at him.

"Exactly my plan." By now they were approaching the gathered army, the Avengers standing front and centre. "Stephen, come with me. It best if you're not out here right now with that stone."

"Except that it's very powerful and we could use all the help we can get." Scott spoke up.

"Except that right now they only know the stone is here, they don't know who it's with or what its bearer can do." She replied. "They're underestimating us right now and we need that to buy us time for Shuri to separate the Mind Stone from Vision. Hopefully the rest of you can decimate enough of their forces by the time we're needed so that they can't hope to win once adding us to the mix." Jane was proving to be a good tactician, though one word stood out to Tony.

"By the time _we're_ needed?" Jane rolled her eyes.

"Would it really surprise you to know that I can fight?"

"Yes. Yes it would." Although it annoyed her to hear him say that, it didn't truly bother her. She knew it wasn't because of her gender or any such silly thing and entirely to do with the fact that she'd never let on that she could fight.

"Well I can. But right now it's best that they continue to believe that the might of Asgard is protecting the stones, so we'll leave them to you for now." She pointed towards the barrier were an alien race could be seen leaving the treeline and rushing at the barrier, though it didn't stop them for trying to break through at any cost.

"They're…killing themselves." Okoye muttered, seeing that indeed the monsters were running at the barrier and pushing their way through at the cost of their own lives.

"Good luck everyone." Jane said. They nodded and turned to the oncoming assault, Tony getting the last word in as his mask fell into place.

"And may the Force be with us."

* * *

 **A/N - Sorry for the delay! I hope to be back to once a week updates, though I make to promises. Only 3 chapters left though if I stick with me plan!**

 **Review please!**


	10. The Goddess of Thunder

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers._

* * *

 **Chapter 10 – The Goddess of Thunder**

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The battle had not been going on for long, but already they were in trouble. Proxima had summoned an alien army who were either so mindless or so under her control that they were literally killing themselves to get through the shield surrounding Wakanda. Eventually, at T'Challa's insistence, they opened the shield in an attempt to keep the invading army in front of them and away from Stephen and Vision, who was still undergoing the procedure to remove the Mind Stone from him. Jane was watching from the window, having been banished by Shuri when she'd tried – and failed – to help with the stone's removal one too many times. She was holding her daughter and constantly looking back to Stephen who was in some kind of a trance. When they saw the army they were to face, he'd decided that now was a good time to delve deeper into the Time Stone's power and was trying to use it to see the future, specifically one where they won. It had been about a half hour and he still hadn't come out of his trance, which Jane took to mean things didn't bode well for them. Though, she reasoned, she didn't actually know how the Time Stone's power worked. For all she knew he could be viewing the future in real time and hadn't even gotten through one possible future yet. Though, she also reasoned, it was the Time Stone. Surely he could speed up the viewing? Thinking about such things was making her head hurt so Jane left Stephen to his future viewing and returned to Shuri's lab, hoping the baby in her arms would mean Shuri wouldn't yell at her to get out and would let her stay instead.

"Bringing Aerith with you doesn't mean you are welcome." Shuri saw right through her.

"But does it mean you'll yell at me to get out?" Shuri shot her a glare.

"No."

"I promise I won't try to help again, but how are things going?"

"She almost has it." Said Wanda, looking suitably impressed.

"But I still need more time." Shuri cautioned.

"How much more?" Jane asked. She didn't like the way the battle was going and was concerned that their time was almost up.

"At least an hour." Jane sighed.

"We may not have an hour." That news didn't bode well, but Shuri didn't even pause in her work.

"Then give me as much as you can and I will try to work faster." Nodding, Jane returned upstairs and found Stephen exactly as she'd left him.

"I wish you'd come out of your trance and tell us what to do to win this." She muttered, going to stand next to Ramonda who was staring out at the battle as well.

"Any progress?" The Queen Mother asked.

"Some. But not enough." Ramonda nodded and the two stood in silence for a time, just watching the battle unfold, watching as time and time again their forces were pushed back. And yet, they were never defeated. The odds were certainly against them and for every opponent they put down another four took its place, but Proxima's forces had still not broken through their lines completely. The monsters had strength and numbers but there were mindless and easy to defeat individually. Jane knew that the battle would not continue this way for much longer though. She may never have met Proxima Midnight before today but she'd certainly heard and read enough about her to know that she always had a back up plan for failing Thanos simply wasn't an option. Jane was proven right when about twenty minutes after she joined Ramonda by the window the ground started to shake. Aerith whimpered and though Jane bounced her gently to calm her, the shaking ground continued and prevented her from soothing the baby. Suddenly, Jane noticed the treeline outside beginning to move. The trees were falling, starting at the back near Proxima's ship and getting closer to the barrier.

"This isn't good." She muttered and the two royals watched as whatever was approaching breached the treeline, though did so on the inside of the barrier. Proxima had sent several machines to try and decimate their army, though they didn't seem to care if they also destroyed some of her own. "And that's my cue."

"Excuse me?" Ramonda asked.

"Will you take care of Aerith for me?" Jane asked, handing the baby over.

"Of course, but where are you going?"

"To fight." She said simply, kissing her daughter goodbye and moving towards the balcony. She stopped though as she passed Stephen. "You _will_ come out of that trance and protect them if needed." It wasn't a question and though he gave no indication of it, Jane was sure he heard her. Moving onto the balcony, Jane raised her arm, calling Mjölnir to her, and in a move she'd seen Thor perform many times, she jumped just as the hammer approached, using it's momentum to take her flying. But that wasn't all she did. As she flew, Jane summoned her power, the one she had discovered she had gained when the One-Above-All had deemed her worthy. In the seconds it took her to get to the battlefield she was surrounded by lightning and used it to its full extent when she landed, taking out two of the machines. The battle came to a momentary stop as those nearest took in the newest arrival, trying to deem if the warrior – for like Thor always did, Jane too had had a costume change – was friend or foe. Standing up, Mjölnir in hand, Jane could feel the lightning flowing over her and knew her eyes were glowing with its power. She took in the scene around her and used their enemies' distraction to her full advantage, taking out another two of the machines with little effort. Taking off at a run, Jane summoned her lightning once more and threw Mjölnir towards a large group of the aliens who were converging on someone, whom she discovered to be Steve.

"You alright?" She asked, helping him up at the same time she caught Mjölnir as it returned to her.

"Yeah…" He said, taking in her new appearance, she wore an outfit very similar to Thor's, and the hammer she wielded. "This is new."

"Sort of." She agreed, as the two began to fight once more. "Certainly new to use it in an actual battle." The fight continued, and with Jane's added power the tide began to turn in their favour, enough so that they had a small reprieve to re-group.

"So now there's a _Goddess_ of Thunder." Tony's smart remark would usually have earned at least a glare, but Jane was just glad that they were all still alive; she couldn't find it in herself to even be annoyed.

"We have to stop them from coming." She said. "There's got to be more than just Proxima's one ship out there, there has to be for this many to be coming through."

"Tony, do you think F.R.I.D.A.Y. can get a readout of the surrounding area and find the hidden ships?" Steve asked.

"Sure thing." He took to the sky and began scanning. "There's four of them!" He called. Now that he knew to look for cloaked ships, they weren't that hard to find.

"So let's destroy them." Said Bucky. "If they took pains to hide them, no doubt there's a reason for it. If we destroy the ships,"

"We should destroy the army." Sam agreed.

"Tony, if you and Rhodey can hit them with one of your missiles it should do enough damage to deactivate the cloaking device." Said Jane. "Once I can see them, I can take out the two nearest each other in one strike. That leaves the other two for the rest of you." It was as good a plan as any and it went off without a hitch, surprisingly enough. The ships were taken out and they began to take out the remaining aliens. As they fought it quickly became apparent that Bucky had been right and this time, as each alien was destroyed four more didn't take its place. Of course, this did not sit well with Proxima, who joined the fight in earnest now, and headed straight for Jane.

"Do not think your powers match mine." Proxima snarled. Jane merely smirked.

"I don't think. I know." She replied. "Especially when the One-Above-All himself gave them to me." This wasn't necessarily true, they weren't sure how big of a role the One-Above-All had played in her getting Mjölnir back and gaining the powers of Thor, or if it had been Odin's enchantment, and the One-Above-All had merely brought her to a place where Mjölnir could be re-born. Regardless, it was a name Proxima knew and one that had her hesitating now as she faced Jane, which is exactly what she'd hoped for. Summoning her lightning once more, Jane grabbed Proxima and held fast as the lightning descended, hitting them both, though it could not harm the Goddess of Thunder. Jane felt Proxima go limp as the lightning vanished and let her fall to the ground. The child of Thanos was still alive, though only just and though it pained her to end any life, Jane could not hesitate and quickly dispatched her enemy. Jane was about to turn to find another opponent but she quickly became aware of a commotion among the Avengers; she cursed herself for not having a headset.

"What is it?" She demanded of Natasha, who was nearest.

"Some big purple guy just appeared in the lab with Shuri. Wanda's holding him off, but she needs help." She said and Jane felt her heart drop.

"Thanos." She whispered, though it was loud enough for Natasha to hear. However, before the Black Widow could even whip around to face her Jane was gone, having used Mjölnir to fly her back to the building. She passed Ramonda and Stephen, who was still in his trance, and spared barely a glance at her daughter, glad at least that the battle taking place downstairs hadn't yet disturbed those upstairs. Jane moved quickly and it wasn't long before she reached the lab, and unsurprisingly found Thanos about to crush his opponent.

"No!" She screamed, throwing Mjölnir with all her might and watching as it made contact, the lightning she'd infused it with satisfyingly making a sizzling sound as it hit Thanos in the shoulder. The Mad Titan turned to face her then and smiled sadistically when he did.

"Asgard's little queen." He said. "I was wondering if I'd get to face you. Your husband wasn't much of a challenge. I doubt you will be either."

"Your taunts won't work with me, Thanos." She said. "I'd know if Thor was dead, for least of all the powers of Asgard would pass to me, and yet they haven't."

"Not if I destroyed Asgard itself." Jane actually laughed at that.

"The Realm Eternal can never be destroyed, not fully, and only Ragnarok, which has already happened in this lifetime, can change it to be unrecognizable." She was now buying time, hoping to let Shuri finish and Wanda to destroy the stone. "You really are pathetic if you think I don't know that's impossible. Even for you. Of course, while you couldn't have killed Thor, Proxima was quite easy to destroy." A flicker of annoyance entered his eyes and Jane held Mjölnir a bit tighter, ready for the attack.

"You will pay for her life with yours." He said and the attack came. She was expecting something strong, especially given the three Infinity Stones he already had, but she was still unprepared for it, and found herself thrown backwards. Jane knew without a doubt that were she still human that attack would have put her out of commission at least, though as one of the Aesir she was much more resistant and though she knew she'd be bruised, Jane was relatively uninjured and quick to get back up. She engaged Thanos directly now, but it was no use, he was too strong. Still, Jane knew her goal here wasn't to destroy him, for quite simply she couldn't, but to stall and from the corner of her eye it seemed like she would meet her goal. However, she did not anticipate Thanos realizing her goal. When finally Shuri had separated the Mind Stone from Vision, Wanda immediately attacked it, using all her strength to destroy the stone, but one short attack was never going to be enough to destroy an Infinity Stone and Thanos was quick to use the time needed to his advantage. Closing his fist, Thanos activated the Power Stone and knocked everyone in the room backwards. His path to the Mind Stone was then left clear and he was quick to add it to his collection.

"Dammit." Jane muttered as she helped Shuri up, Wanda having gone to Vision who was quite disoriented without the stone, though he was thankfully alive.

"Four down, two to go." Said Thanos, smiling sadistically once more. "And soon it will be one to go." He turned his gaze upwards towards where Stephen was and activated the Power Stone once more, bringing the roof down and allowing him a direct path to the other Infinity Stone on Earth. Jane and Wanda quickly followed, leaving Vision in Shuri's care, and they were relieved to see all the Avengers, as well as several of Wakanda's best warriors, standing protectively in front of Stephen and Ramonda, who stood as far back as possible while clutching baby Aerith. Thanos did not appear to be in a talking mood any longer and simple attacked. They all fought together against him, but it was no use. He had four Infinity Stones, and beyond that was quite powerful in his own right, there was little chance that they would win this battle.

"Anytime now, Harry Potter." Tony muttered as he was knocked back, landing beside Stephen who still sat in a trance, the Time Stone glowing against his chest. Jane herself had gone for another attack, and joined forces with Wanda, the two combining their power and actually managing to land a powerful blow. However, this only angered Thanos who turned his sights on them. They managed to dodge several attacks, but one eventually hit and Jane found herself flying towards the wall, though she never hit. An arm had reached out and grabbed her around the neck, Thanos bringing her close to glare at her, while the battle came to a stop, none of the others wanting to hit her.

"Looks like this is the end of Asgard's Queen." He snarled, tightening his grip and Jane felt her breath leave her.

"That won't be necessary." A voice spoke and everyone turned to see that Stephen had finally come out of his trance and was now approaching Thanos.

"The only way this ends is with her dead." Thanos said plainly. "Unless you hand over the stone." Everyone tensed, knowing neither was an option. At least, they had thought that neither was an option.

"Gladly." Stephen waved his hands and opened the Eye of Agamotto, the stone inside glowed green as he brought it forth and used some unseen hover power to hold it out to a suspicious looking Thanos without actually touching the stone. "Let her go, leave Earth now, and I will give you the Time Stone willingly."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Clint hissed, his question echoed in the incredulous looks of the group.

"Stephen…" Wong also spoke up, looking more than a little uncertain, though there was also no small amount of trust in his eyes. Stephen ignored them both.

"This is no trick. Release her and leave Earth. That is all it will take for you to get this stone without a fight."

"I could just destroy you all." Thanos said.

"You could." Stephen agreed. "But it would take time. We're not without our own powers, and if, instead of handing the Time Stone over, I was to use it against you…you could be stuck in endless looped time like Dormammu and Hela. I don't think you want that, do you?" Thanos was silent for a moment, but eventually he released Jane, who dropped to the ground gasping for air.

"This is only a reprieve." He said as he approached Stephen. "I will return and destroy you all."

"I have no doubt you'll try." Stephen replied in an infuriating tone, though he quite willingly handed over the stone. "But this way we live to fight another day." The bargain struck, Thanos took the stone and placed it on his gauntlet, the power of yet another Infinity Stone washing over him. When finally it stopped, Thanos looked to the group once more before smiling and activating the Space Stone, the blue glow surrounding him as he disappeared.

"What the hell?!" Several voices cried out in anger, though Stephen ignored them all, instead going to help Jane.

"Are you alright?" He asked and she nodded, though the doctor in him still gave her a once over, particularly at her neck, which Thanos had squeezed quite hard. "The bruising is pretty bad, but if you heal anywhere near the rate that Odin did, you'll be fine soon." Jane nodded her thanks and the two then turned to face their friends, all of whom looked incensed, though Jane herself asked the question none of them would think to.

"I take it that giving him the stone like that is part of the future in which we win?" Stephen smiled and nodded.

"That, and keeping you alive."

"Ok, what is going on?" Tony broke in. "Why did you just give him the stone?!"

"While you were all fighting, I was using the Time Stone to see possible futures." He explained. "Millions of them, in which only very few did we defeat Thanos. That changed when he grabbed you." He looked down at Jane. "The future is always changing and once he grabbed you, there become only one future in which we won this fight. The future in which you lived."

"Ok…I'm not sure how that works though." And she didn't, Jane could not understand how she would play a key role in Thanos' defeat.

"I can't explain it." Stephen said. "Partially because I don't fully understand it, and partially because, as I said, the future is always changing. But what I do know is that you need to live for us to have a chance to defeat him." Jane nodded.

"Ok, let's go with that plan then." Said Steve.

"Since he didn't give us another choice." Tony muttered.

"What do we do now?" Steve asked, ignoring Tony.

"Now we get to Asgard and end this once and for all."

* * *

 **A/N - Sorry for the delay, it's our busiest time of year at work. Anyways, hope you liked it, and only 1 (possibly 2) chapters left!**

 **Review please!**


	11. The Infinity Stones

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers._

* * *

 **Chapter 11 – The Infinity Stones**

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Jane gave everyone two minutes to do what they must to be ready to go face Thanos once more. She herself took those two minutes to say goodbye to her daughter, whom Ramonda assured her would be safe. One hundred and twenty seconds later the Avengers, Dora Milaje, Wakanda's army as well as the Jabari warriors were all standing ready to do battle once more. Knowing that with Thanos on Asgard Heimdall would not be watching from the Bifrost as he usually was, Jane raised Mjölnir and used a power known by few, and gifted to only two aside from the Gatekeeper himself. The Biforst opened remotely, summoning them all to her home, which looked far more normal than she expected. She had thought it would resemble something like when Hela had attacked, that Asgard would be aflame, though this was not the case this time. The sounds of battle could still be heard though, and Jane was ready for a fight.

"Head straight across the bridge, you'll find us easily when you get to the main city." She instructed, before swinging Mjölnir around and taking flight. It was not the first time she had flown this way on her own, but she was far from used to it. Even so, it came quite instinctively, as did the thunder coursing through her, which she used to put down a group of Thanos' army as she landed next to her husband. Thor did a double take when she appeared, his expression morphing into one of anger before settling down, though worry was still clear in his eyes.

"Let me guess, your instincts are telling you to yell at me for being here in battle?" She asked as she began to fight alongside him.

"Not at all." He said, and she was admittedly somewhat surprised. "At least, not once I remembered you were no longer pregnant." He amended. "You fight with Mjölnir as if you had been training with it for years. I know you can handle yourself." Jane couldn't help but smile and the two worked together to bring down the oncoming army. As they fought, Jane saw that Loki and Sif were fighting together nearby, while their other friends weren't far away either. Tony, Rhodey and Sam had also joined them, the three having their own ability of flight had easily caught up with Jane, and they had brought who they could, while the pounding of rushing feet could be heard getting closer, signalling the others were getting nearer as well. However, they weren't the only newcomers.

"What the…?" Jane trailed off when she saw a tree and a racoon fighting together not far away.

"Oh yes, we were joined by another group who followed Thanos here." Thor briefly explained. "They kind of just joined the battle, I assume they are on our side or they wouldn't be fighting him." Jane couldn't fault that logic and so continued fighting. Eventually her battle brought her closer to one of the new group that Thor had talked about.

"Woah…you can use thunder too? How many of you are there, and why isn't anyone else using this highly effective weapon?" A man, who very much looked human, asked.

"There's only two of us who can use it." She responded as she threw Mjölnir into an oncoming alien, before recalling it and taking a swing at another one.

"Fair enough then." The fact that they were in a battle for not only their lives, but the lives of half the people in the galaxy didn't seem to disturb him. "I'm Peter Quill, by the way, though you probably know me as Starlord." Jane raised an eyebrow. "Or not, that's cool too."

"I'm Jane, Queen of Asgard." Peter's head whipped in her direction when she said queen and Jane was forced to stop the alien coming up behind him from attacking. "Don't get distracted!" She barked and he went back to fighting. The two drifted apart as they fought and Jane met Groot and Rocket, and tree and racoon, as well as the former child of Thanos, Gamora. All of this happened in two or three minutes, and finally the other Avengers and Wakandan army were starting to join them. The addition of Earth's army did little but annoy Thanos, though it bolstered the Asgardian army enough to renew their will to fight. That, more than the army's actual arrival, grated on Thanos, who became more and more erratic. Finally, he had had enough and a quick clench of his fist saw them all go flying courtesy of the Power Stone.

"Enough." He said, turning to Thor. "Where is the Soul Stone?"

"Even if I knew I would not tell you." He said, glad at least that they had a reprieve for a moment. Thanos smirked and his blood ran cold. With a another clench of his fist, Thanos activated the Space Stone, the blue portal they had come to associate with travel by Infinity Stone surrounding him, though he did not disappear. Instead he had summoned something, or someone, and if Thor's blood ran cold before, his heart stopped now, though his wasn't the only one.

"AERITH!" Jane shrieked, seeing her child in the arms of the Mad Titan. Both she and Thor made to rush to their daughter's side but were held back by Sif and Loki. They all watched as Thanos quieted the newborn, who had begun crying, and whom he was cradling surprisingly gently.

"There now." He said when she'd fallen back to sleep. "Let's not wake her, shall we?"

"If you harm even one hair on her head…" Thor threatened though it sounded more like begging.

"She doesn't need to come to harm, just give me the Soul Stone and I will return her to you."

"Don't believe him." Gamora spat. "He's already taken more than one child to be his slave, there's nothing stopping him taking another, and the heir to Asgard would be a powerful child of his indeed."

"Is that truly what you think of me, daughter?" There appeared to be genuine sorrow in his eyes for a moment, though it was quickly gone.

"Everything I hate about myself, you taught me. You're nothing but a monster."

"Perhaps to some." He agreed, before turning back to Thor. "But I have a destiny to fulfill, and no one will stand in my way. Now give me the Soul Stone." Thor stared at him for awhile, and though he was clearly impatient, Thanos waited. To give up the Soul Stone meant the end of Asgard, the end of his people, and of billions more. And yet he knew he would give it up. That one tiny human Thanos held meant more him than anything and if there was a chance to save her, he had to take it. Still he hesitated, though he knew his choice ultimately, it was still not an easy one.

"Go ahead, Thor." Stephen spoke up. "We understand." Thor looked incredulous, though Jane was filled with understanding and nodded to her husband. Still knowing he was making a bad decision – even though the other choice was just as bad – Thor banged Gungnir on the ground, summoning the final Infinity Stone. It appeared before him and he dared not touch it, knowing to do so would unleash the stone's power and likely kill him. Aside from Vision, who had had the Mind Stone imbedded into his molecular make up, somehow making him an exception, very few could physically touch an Infinity Stone and live to tell the tale. Thor walked forwards, Jane by his side, and approached Thanos.

"Give me my daughter." Jane said, looking up at him with pure hatred. Thanos smiled infuriatingly but did as commanded, though he kept one hand placed on the baby's head, comforting for now, though it could turn crushing if they tried anything.

"The stone." He said. Thor gritted his teeth but did what he had to and handed the stone over. They retreated immediately once Thanos' hand was removed, looking their daughter over for any sign of injury. "Finally." Thanos speaking drew their attention back to the current conflict and they watched in dread as he moved the stone towards his Gauntlet.

" _Be careful, Thanos, son of A'Lars."_ Thanos stopped, his head snapping up as he looked for whoever had spoken.

"That voice…" Jane murmured. "I know that voice."

"What have I to be afraid of?" He scoffed, knowing who must be speaking, but not truly caring, not now that he had all six Infinity Stones. The One-Above-All may have created the stones, but he had placed in them his power, to hold all six stones was said to be the One-Above-All's equal.

" _The Soul holds a special place among the Infinity Stones. You might say, a certain wisdom. It will not give its power lightly, and can extract a terrible price."_ The One-Above-All warned.

"I am prepared."

" _You all think that at first. You are all wrong."_

"I am not afraid of whatever sorcery you have concocted" Said Thanos forcefully. "With the Infinity Stones I have brought together, I will fulfill my destiny." Without any further hesitation he placed the stone in the final spot on his gauntlet. They all held their breath as the power surged over him, same as it had with the other stones he had collected. When it dissipated he turned his gaze on them smiled sinisterly once more. Raising his hand he snapped his fingers and those around him closed their eyes, waiting for whatever it was to come. Thanos' cry alerted them that something had hit, but not them. Their eyes snapping open, they saw Thanos surrounded by the Infinity Stones, his Gauntlet destroyed, while the Soul Stone glowed brightly before him.

"What's happening?!" Steve shouted above the wind that had picked up, the power swirling around Thanos creating a vortex that they could feel was strong enough to hold them back should they try to approach.

" _The Soul Stone will not give its power lightly."_ The voice repeated. _"Only those who are worthy may wield it. It is the final safeguard against the destruction of all I have created."_

"The Soul Stone deemed Thanos unworthy then." Thor surmised.

"What, like your hammer?" Clint asked and Thor nodded.

"Though this is much more than that. My father placed a powerful spell on Mjölnir yes, but this…" It was left unsaid but they understood; Mjölnir was a mere magic trick compared to this. They watched in both horror and fascination as Thanos met his end, the stone's power destroying him from the inside out, from the very soul it deemed unworthy. When Thanos was no more they expected things to quiet down, to be over, but the vortex remained, it's strength continuing to grow.

"And what's happening _now?_ " Asked Peter. This time though the voice did not reply, the One-Above-All had left them, his purpose here, whatever it had been, complete.

"The stone's power has been released, it's gone out of control, we need to calm it or it will destroy everything!" Loki shouted, the only way to be heard above the vortex.

"You speak as if it is alive." T'Challa noted.

"The Aether was." Said Jane. "Why not the Soul Stone too?" She then turned to her husband. "Thor, you'll have to get it under control. You're the King of Asgard, the Soul Stone is bonded to you as it has been to all of Asgard's kings and queens."

"But how?" He asked in return. She thought for a moment, but it was Loki who came up with the answer.

"Return it to the heart of Asgard." He said. "It may be bonded to you, brother, but it is also bonded to Asgard itself. Return it to it's home." Thor banged Gungnir on the ground, trying to return the stone to it's home the same way he'd brought it here, unfortunately for him that didn't work.

"Ok, so now what?"

"We'll have to physically take it back." Said Jane. "It's the only way."

"Won't it destroy you like it did Thanos if you touch it?" Natasha asked.

"Only if they are unworthy." Loki replied.

" _They?_ "Jane asked.

"You are the one that the One-Above-All deemed worthy, are you not? With his bond to the stone, and the One-Above-All's faith in you I think you have a fairly good chance of not dying a horrible death."

"Gee thanks." She muttered.

"He's right though." Gamora spoke up. "We have held the Power Stone. And we are alive because we held it together."

"Or we're alive because I'm half celestial." Peter muttered. Gamora shot her boyfriend a look but otherwise said nothing.

"We don't really have a choice. The stone can't continue to grow in strength like this, it will destroy Asgard and we've only just rebuilt." Jane said. She turned to Loki and handed him her daughter. "Swear to me you will protect her if anything happens to us."

"You would leave me in charge of –"

"Asgard." Thor butt in. "As regent until she is old enough to rule on her own. We know you love her already, that was never in question. But Asgard's future is if we die and I would have this sorted here and now." He handed Gungnir over as well and Loki looked well and truly lost for words. "Sif will keep you in line, of course." The lady in question had been standing by Loki's side the whole time and nodded her head, though her gaze begged her oldest friend not to die. She and Loki, as well as the Warriors Three who stood behind them, were the only goodbyes they said – aside from their daughter, whom they kissed on the head – if not in so many words. Turning towards the vortex, Jane and Thor grasped each other's hand and began making their way towards the stone. It wasn't as hard as they thought it would be, though it was by no means easy. The stone's power continued to try and push them back and they had to force their way through. Finally they stood in front of the Soul Stone with the other five Infinity Stones gleaming around them. Looking to each other they hesitated.

"I love you." Said Thor.

"Always." Jane replied. Then raising their hands, the two reached out and grasped the stone together.

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 **A/N - Only one more chapter to go!**

 **Review please!**


	12. Into Eternity

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thor, nor the Avengers._

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 **Chapter 12 – Into Eternity**

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There was no explosion, no blowback, not even a flash of light. The Stone simply settled down.

"Well…that was anti-climactic." Tony observed. Jane shot him a glare and he held up his hands in defeat. Looking down at their joined hands, Jane and Thor slowly separated them and watched as the stone settled in their bare hands.

"We're alive." Jane muttered, feeling quite in shock that she was touching an Infinity Stone and hadn't been blown to pieces.

" 'Only those who are worthy may wield it.' " Stephen quoted, looking like he had known all along that this would happen, and perhaps he had, having seen so may possible futures.

"Perhaps." Thor acknowledged the words the One-Above-All had spoken, but he sounded so battle-weary they knew this would not be a discussion they were having right now. Summoning Gungnir, Thor tried again to return the Soul Stone to its rightful place at the heart of Asgard, and this time, with the stone having quieted, he succeeded. He then turned his attention to the other five stones floating above him. Reaching up, he grasped the Time Stone between his fingers and turned to Stephen who accepted it gladly, though he himself dared not touch it directly.

"Thank you." He said, having wondered if the stone would be returned to him, and if the Eye of Agamotto would be whole once more or not.

"It is safe with you." Thor said simply. "As is the Mind Stone with you, Vision." The android looked confused, as did Wanda who stood by his side. "Even though you are you without the stone, it cannot be denied that the Mind Stone had a part in creating you. As such it is at home with you, and I would return it to its home."

"I will not let it be connected to him again as it once was." Wanda warned and Thor immediately backed down.

"Nor would I ask such a thing." He assured her. "But if I may?" Though hesitant Vision nodded and Thor moved his hand up to cover where the stone used to reside in Vision's forehead. The magic he had, though rarely used, came forward and Vision could feel the Mind Stone settle into place, though differently this time. "I admit I took a leaf out of Thanos' book. The stone is connected to you as it was to his gauntlet, but it is not a part of you, and it can be removed if needed." Vision smiled.

"I admit I feel better having it back." He said, looking to Wanda hesitantly, knowing her thoughts about him having the stone.

"And I feel better knowing you have its power to protect you." She admitted to Vision's surprise. "So long as it does not become a crutch as it once was." Vision's smile brightened and he bent to kiss her, ignoring Tony's fake gagging noises.

"That leaves us with three." Natasha noted.

"The Space Stone shall remain on Asgard." Said Loki, surprising them as they had not expected him to make such a decision. Raising one hand, Loki summoned his own rarely used power, that of his Jotun heritage. When he had accepted what he was, he had discovered that the magic his mother had taught him allowed him to summon the frosts of Jotunheim though without the casket. Moulding it to his will, Loki created a cube of everlasting ice to surround the Space Stone. "It is not the Tesseract as it once was." He said. "But the 'jewel of Odin's treasure room' can return to its rightful place." Thor nodded, silently thanking his brother and banged Gungnir on the ground, sending the Tesseract to the vaults.

"So what do we do with the other two?" Clint asked.

"We bury them." Thor said. "The Reality Stone was safe for thousands of years wherever my grandfather, King Bor, sent it. Only Jane has seen its hiding place and I do not think even she knows where it is." Jane shook her head. "It will be safe there for another five thousand years until the next Convergence re-opens the portal that took Jane there in the first place." Another bang of Gungnir saw the Bifrost opened, returning the Reality Stone to its burial place, even if Thor didn't know where it was.

"And we can take the Power Stone to another safe place." Rocket spoke up. In response the Bifrost opened once more, sweeping the final Infinity Stone away.

"I think not, rabbit." Said Thor, distrusting. "While giving it to the Xandarians was not a bad idea, it placed a target on their whole planet and saw to their annihilation at Thanos' hands. I will not have another realm under my protection suffer so."

"We also don't trust you." Loki spoke up once more.

"I am Groot!" Said the tree.

"Yes, and we thank you for your help in defeating Thanos, but I will not take any chances with an Infinity Stone." Thor replied, shocking Groot's friends.

"You speak Groot?!" Rocket demanded. He and Groot had been best friends for years and even he had trouble understanding him sometimes.

"Yes, they taught it here on Asgard, it was an elective."

"Where did you send it?" Gamora asked.

"Good question." Thor replied with a smile, though he was clearly not going to answer that question. Turning towards the Asgardian army that had simply been standing there as they figured out what to do with the Infinity Stones, Thor held out his hand to Jane and led his queen over to address them, both standing taller as they went, the weariness leaving them as they turned their attention to their people.

"Thanos is no more!" Thor announced – unnecessarily – to much cheering. "You fought bravely and it is thanks to you that we were victorious!"

"Go now to rest and recuperate and see your families." Jane added. "Tonight we will honour those who gave their lives as they depart for Valhalla."

"And tomorrow we feast!" Thor added to another great cheer. The army then began dispersing and the weariness returned to the two monarchs.

"You will stay for the feast tomorrow?" Jane asked those still gathered even as her attention was now on her daughter, whom she took from Loki, holding the newborn close.

"Heimdall will bring your families to Asgard now so they may join as well." Thor added, before turning to Heimdall. "If you wouldn't mind, old friend." Heimdall nodded, knowing that while Thor, and Jane, could both activate the Bifrost at will, it took a toll for them to do so without the aid of the Bifrost machine. Hearing their families would join them, the Avengers quickly agreed.

"We would be honoured if you would join us as well." Jane said to the newcomers, though most seemed a bit hesitant. One, however, did not.

"Eat at an Asgardian feast?" Drax said. "The food is said to be the best in all the realms."

"Oh it is, my friend." Volstagg said, clapping Drax on the shoulder; he already liked this man. "There is nothing to compare." With Drax on board the others agreed and so Jane and Thor led them into the palace and saw that everyone would be cared for before they departed for their chambers, though they weren't the only ones.

"One word, Thor, and I will end you, king or no." Sif hissed when Thor smirked in her direction. Loki too had decided to make his way to his chambers, which were in the same wing as Jane and Thor's, being the wing that held all the royal chambers, and he had taken Sif's hand to bring her with them, thinking they were overdue for a talk; though whether that was all they did remained to be seen. Thor wisely said nothing now, but the glint in his eyes promised she would not get away unscathed for long. Arriving at their chambers, Thor immediately went to shower while Jane kept hold of Aerith before the two switched, neither parent being willing to release their child for the moment. Eventually though, after being fed and cuddled for a few hours, the parents placed their baby in her cradle and retreated to bed.

"If I wasn't so tired I would ravish you." Thor murmured sleepily. "Looking as delectable as you do in your nightgown."

"This durable cotton is hardly silk and lace." She murmured just as sleepily. "Though I'll take the compliment." It was all that was said, for in moments they were both asleep.

 **-/-**

The feast the following day was raucous, as Asgardian feasts usually were. The Avengers and their families were welcomed as guests of honour, all of them receiving a hero's welcome and much attention from the court. Asgard's top scholars were deep in conversation with Tony, Hank and Bruce. Having Jane as their queen and getting to know Shuri during her stay, they knew well that Earth's scholars rivalled theirs in many ways and were eager to learn. Clint had gotten into a shooting competition earlier in the day with one of Argard's top archers and was now being bombarded with questions and requests for tips and lessons after having beaten him soundly, while Natasha and Okoye were similarly being questioned by Asgard's warriors because of their skill in combat. Some Avengers, like Vision and Wanda, were lucky to be left alone for the most part – though that might have something to do with how closely they held each other – while others weren't so lucky. Both T'Challa and Steve found themselves constantly in demand for one reason or another, though both were ultimately content, knowing they were strengthening Earth's relationship with Asgard. Scott was more or less left alone as well, though he kept a close eye on Cassie who had made a friend in Volstagg, who seemed quite taken with the little girl and was uproariously telling her stories, most of them highly embellished. Like her son, Ramonda was acting the diplomat for Wakanda, though she had rushed to Aerith's side upon seeing her again; having the baby disappear from her arms into nothingness had been understandably traumatic. Jane and Thor, for their part, were both observing and presiding over the entire feast and had made the Guardians of the Galaxy, as they had learned the newcomers were called, welcome in their home; though they kept a close eye on the racoon who had been heard more than once taking about his past thievery as if it was a badge of honour. Now, however, they were taking a moment to relax after playing the hosts all evening and were sitting alongside Sif and Loki, whom had conspicuously not left each other's sides.

"Just think, brother." Thor began, much too nonchalantly. "Perhaps one day soon all this celebration will be for you, and Lady Sif of course."

"Assuming I will have him." Sif muttered.

"Oh, I meant for the birth of your child, not a wedding." Thor said. "What with the way you two were-ow!" He turned and saw no one behind him, though a fading glow told him that Loki had magicked a double of himself across the table to slap his brother.

"You deserved it." Jane said and Thor chuckled, unable to disagree.

"He deserves far more than that." Sif growled and Thor's smile disappeared as he grimaced, knowing well that tone of voice. "And he will get everything that is coming to him."

"You deserve that too." Said Jane and again Thor could not disagree, though his amusement had worn off.

"Right…well regardless, do ask her to marry you before someone else does." Thor cautioned his brother who scowled even more, not liking that thought at all. Any retort he might have made to his brother though was cut off as several Avengers joined them, having been released from their interrogations.

"I gotta hand it to you, Thor, you really know how to throw a party." Said Sam, who was more than half way to being drunk, though he was far from the only one.

"I feel like I'm on a movie set or something. It's like we've been taken out of time…and that's coming from me." Said Steve.

"Agreed." Bucky added.

"I felt exactly the same way." Jane said. "Asgard is at once the most advanced realm I've ever seen, but they are also very much stuck in the past in many ways."

"For us, perhaps." T'Challa joined the conversation. "But it works for them. And I daresay that they figured this out long ago, long before humans even began to count time on Earth. Why fix what is not broken?"

"Yes, but at least they understand that even though it works, it can still be improved." Shuri quipped. T'Challa scowled at his sister, but a smile could be seen underneath. They sat in companionable silence for awhile until a nurse came to fetch Jane as it was time to feed Aerith. When she returned she brought the baby with her, much to the court's delight.

"They really love her." Erik commented after the fifth courtier came to fawn over their Princess.

"She will certainly be well taken care of, should anything happen to us." Thor agreed. "On Asgard, at any rate." Jane added, looking to her husband who nodded. "But even though biologically speaking she is wholly Asgardian, since I ate the Apple of Yggdrasil and all, she is still part Earthling, and we don't want her to forget that." She turned to Darcy and Pepper, looking between the two of them. "Godparents aren't exactly a custom on Asgard, but would you two be Aerith's godmothers?" Darcy squealed a yes very loudly and immediately apologized when her new goddaughter began to fuss. Pepper was much more calm but happily accepted as well. Thor then turned to Steve.

"And you her godfather?" He asked. Steve seemed shocked until Jane gave him a look; he couldn't deny how close they had become.

"I'd be honoured." He said and even went so far as to take Aerith from her mother and introduce himself as her godfather, promising to love and care for her.

"So sentimental…didn't know you had it in you, Cap." Tony said, wiping away a fake tear. "Though I can see how he's the obvious choice. He'll teach her how to be honest and true, an all around good person…and a complete stick in the mud like he is." His jealousy was very thinly veiled even as he joked. Pepper elbowed him and shot him a reproving look, though Jane sighed loudly.

"Oh for god's sake, Tony, we were going to ask you to be her other godfather." She said as if it was obvious. His head snapped in her direction and his eyes became wide and hopeful, though he'd never admit it.

"Really?"

"Until you opened your big mouth that is."

"No take backs!" He said and actually turned his attention to the baby of his own free will for the first time, following Steve's lead and introducing himself as her godfather, though he used a bad _Godfather_ movie accent where Steve had not.

"We haven't actually asked you, Tony." She said.

"Too late!" Sensing a fight was brewing between the pseudo siblings, Richard stepped in and put a stop to it.

"Fine. Just don't corrupt her too badly." Jane muttered.

"That's my job." Said Loki.

"And mine." Said Darcy. Jane and Thor both groaned.

"She's doomed." Thor nodded, in complete agreement with his wife.

"What have we done?"

"God only knows." Steve answered with a chuckle. "Though I get the feeling she'll know too one day, long after we're gone." The parents' frowns turned into smiles at that.

"Long after we're all gone, into eternity."

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 **A/N - The End.**

 **I hope it wasn't a disappointment, I know I skipped or glossed over many characters, and brought the Guardians in last minute for what is basically a cameo, but there's just too many of them! Anyways, t** **hanks for reading everyone!**

 **Review please!**


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